Magnetic Moment
by kalina-blue
Summary: FWHG My take on the marriage law, but I created a loophole. A story about the beginning of Fred and Hermione's relationship and their struggle to be accepted by their friends and families. Will they be able to prove that opposites do attract?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: JKR owns everything and I don't make any money with this story. The idea of the Marriage Law originated at wiktt, I believe. I'm just borrowing...

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**_Magnetic Moment_**

**Chapter 1**

It was the middle of November of Hermione's seventh year at Hogwarts when she was asked to go to the office of Headmistress McGonagall.

Harry, Ron and she had after a summer-long and fruitless search for Horcruxes decided to return to school. The plan was to learn as much as they could and then resume their quest prepared and able.

The Daily Prophet still reported mysteriously missing witches and wizards or worse, but although the Death Eaters were active and cruel, Voldemort hadn't shown himself in months. The night where Dumbledore died had been the last attack on a grand scale and it seemed like both sides were biding their time waiting for the other one to strike.

Hermione was glad for the temporary break. Back at Hogwarts it was easy to forget that there was a war going on and that at any moment she and her friends might have to face another lethal battle. She tried to savour the time she had left at Hogwarts sensing that it would be the last months for her as an relatively carefree youth.

Nevertheless being called to the headmistress caused Hermione to worry. Two out of three times a student was ordered to Professor McGonagall's office these days it was to be told that one of their family members had been attacked. Just last week Cormack McLaggan had been called in to receive the news that his aunt and uncle were killed.

So it was with a beating heart and sweaty palms that Hermione Granger reached the stone gargoyles that guarded the entrance to the Heads office. "Sherbet Lemon" she whispered the password, which Professor McGonagall had clearly chosen in remembrance of her predecessor.

The entrance opened and she stepped onto the moving staircase. Her nervousness increased as she stood in front of the door. She lifted her right hand, took a deep breath and knocked.

"Enter." came the stern but familiar voice from the other side of the doors. Hermione went inside and looked ahead. Professor McGonagall was sitting at the huge desk that dominated the office. Hermione came closer.

"Hello Professor." Her voice sounded strong, not at all a mirror of her feelings.

"Miss Granger, have a seat."

Hermione did as she was told and looked at her headmistress' face intently. Was she going to tell her terrible news? Hermione couldn't read the expression, but couldn't think of another reason why she might have been called to the office either.

"I have a very serious matter to discuss with you, Miss Granger."

"My parents…" Hermione chocked.

"What?" Minerva McGonagall was confused for a second, but when she saw Hermione's crestfallen face she understood. "Good grief, no. They are alright, I'm sure."

Hermione felt herself flooded with relief.

"But there is another matter I have to discuss with you." the professor paused, obviously trying to search for words. Hermione did not speak. "I am afraid…" McGonagall continued after a while "…the Ministry is causing problems again."

"What kind of problems?"

"Well, since the Ministry has shown itself unable to find he-who-must-not-be-named or even arrest some of the Death Eaters it is facing resentment from the wizarding population at the moment. We know they repeatedly tried to improve their image by getting Harry to join them. As you are no doubt aware, with little success.

Minister Scrimgeour is in desperate need to find another way to satisfy his voters. As he is unable to put a stop to the threat he-who-must-not-be-named is posing he seems to have come to the decision to just divert the attention of the people to other matters."

"How can he just think that witches and wizards will forget about Voldemort?"

"I don't think he wants them to forget. He just needs something to boost their morale and lift their spirits. And he needs to appear like he is doing something. He needs a diversion - panem et circenses."

Professor McGonagall paused once more and cast another worried look at Hermione, who was listening with rapt attention. Then she continued.

"I can only express my disgust with the plan Minister Scrimgeour has come up with. Unfortunately I do not possess the kind of influence that would be needed to put a stop to this ridiculous law."

"But what is it, Professor? I don't understand."

"The ministry is about to pass a Marriage Law. Every muggle-born witch or wizard of age will be paired with a Pureblood willing to marry."

"What. How? Why? What." Hermione spluttered incoherently.

"It seems Minister Scrimgeour plans to promote the problem of a rising squib quote. According to him the increasing number of squibs in all-magical families is a danger to the continuation of the wizarding lines."

"I would think being killed off by Death Eaters is taking a far greater toile at the population." Hermione inserted angrily.

"Of course, but that is not the point. The squibs are only an excuse. What Minister Scrimgeour wants is for the witches and wizards to be busy. All the upcoming weddings will take their minds off all the funerals they have been attending."

"This is preposterous. They can't just force Muggle-borns to get married. We have rights."

"I'm afraid the laws of the wizarding community are quite different from the Muggle ones. If the Ministry passes the law, as I am sure they will eventually, there will be no choice but to abide. "

Hermione stared dumbfounded at Professor McGonagall. "So I'll have to get married?"

"Yes. And the Ministry will choose who. The exact regulations are still in the works, but it seems like the Ministry is planning to match all the muggle-borns to those Purebloods that petition for marriage."

"That's just unfair. Why do the Purebloods get a choice and the muggle-borns not?"

"Of course it is unjust. But that is not my main concern. Ms. Granger don't you understand? The Ministry has always been open to the poisonous influence of the Death Eaters - now more than ever. Event though they probably did not initiate the Marriage Law themselves, they will no doubt use it to their advantage. Which is why I am particularly concerned about you. You're position as Head Girl and your connection to Mr. Potter make you a prime target."

"You mean… What do you mean?" Hermione was confused.

"I think it almost certain that the Death Eaters will use their uncontrolled influence within the Ministry to affect your matching. They will make sure you are coupled with an unknown Death Eater, there are still many of them unnamed, and then you will be at his mercy. You are in grave danger."

Hermione paled. The thought of herself being married to a Death Eater made the bile rise in her throat. She didn't want to imagine…

"There seems to be a loophole though." Professor McGonagall continued. "The Order has some influence in the Ministry as well, although it didn't help much in this case:"

"What is it?" Hermione was desperate.

"There is going to be a clause in the Marriage Law, allowing every muggle-born witch or wizard already in a relationship with a Pureblood to marry their partner instead of the one the Ministry chooses for them."

"But I am not in a relationship."

"I am aware. I have given the matter a great deal of thought. There is still some time left. The Ministry hasn't worked out the law completely yet. Especially the choosing process hasn't been determined yet; therefore the Order believes that the law won't be passed before Christmas."

"So I have to find a boyfriend until then. Maybe if I tell Ron…"

"Ronald Weasley is not a possible choice. There will be certain requirements a suitor will have to fulfil in order for the Ministry to approve, the most important one being the ability to provide for a family. Mr. Weasley is still at school and has no family fortune to fall back on."

"But then…" Hermione was close to tears by now. Ron had been her only option. But she could not marry a Death Eater. She pictured herself being wed to Lucius Malfoy and shuttered. She's rather leave the magical world all together than share a bed with him or any other Death Eater.

"Since there is no possible option for you at school I took the liberty of asking one of the Order members to help you. I realise this is being quite a shock for you, but it is essential that we prevent the Ministry from matching you with somebody who will immediately turn you over to he-who-must-not-be-named himself."

"Who?" Hermione choked out.

"Fred Weasley." Professor McGonagall replied. "I already informed him about the impending Marriage Law and he is willing to marry you."

Hermione did not know what to think. It was all just too much.

"Mr. Weasley is going to arrive shortly. I think it is best if you talk to each other."

Hermione merely nodded.

"I will leave you alone now. I am sure you have a lot to think about. Feel free to use my office for the meeting with Mr. Weasley. He should be arriving through my floo in a few minutes."

Professor McGonagall exited her office, giving Hermione a short consoling pad on the shoulder on her way out.

Hermione bend forward and rested her elbows on her knees. She felt nauseous. A large part of her refused to believe what Professor McGonagall had just told her. Marriage Law? The whole concept was ridiculous. She desperately hoped that it all was just some sick joke. After all one of the Weasley twins was involved. But Hermione knew that Professor McGonagall would never agree witch a prank like that. Hell, she even doubted whether the twins would play a prank like that. She could still hope though.

Married to Fred Weasley, never in a million years had Hermione thought this possible. She rested her face in her hands and closed her eyes. She would not cry.

Hermione stayed like this for a while, focusing on her own breathing and frantically trying to get control over her inner turmoil. She heard the flames in the fireplace flare up and someone stepping out of it. She knew it was Fred but did not lift her head or open her eyes. She couldn't.

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Fred Weasley saw Hermione sitting on the chair in front of the huge desk. Her whole body seemed to be sunken in and her shoulders were shaking. She didn't acknowledge his presence when he entered the room through the fireplace and at first Fred didn't say anything as well. He was nervous.

When it became apparent though that Hermione would not move he decided it would be upon him to take the first step. Fred cleared his throat.

"Hermione?" He asked tentatively. He desperately hoped she wasn't crying, as he had no idea what to do in that case.

Those worries at least were unfounded because when Hermione finally lifted her head her cheeks were dry.

"Did McGonagall tell you about the law just now? He asked her coming to stand next to the chair she was occupying.

"Yes." Hermione answered. Again she was surprised that her voice wasn't shaking.

"She told me yesterday." Fred walked around the desk and led himself fall into the chair of Professor McGonagall. He put is feet up on the desk. "Wicked, huh. I thought she was joking at first, but then I remembered that ol' McGonagall doesn't have a single humorous bone in her body."

Hermione burst out laughing. Any other time she would have reprimanded Fred for his cheeky words about the headmistress or his disrespectful treatment of school property, but at this moment she just had to laugh. It was either that or crying.

Fred joined her laughter and the atmosphere in the office, which had been so tense you could have cut it with a knife, lightened.

"I still can't believe this is happening." Hermione spoke, when the laughter had finally died down.

"That makes two of us."

"Why did you agree to…marry me?" Hermione asked. She had been wondering that ever since Professor McGonagall had said Fred's name. She looked at him lounging, there was no other word for it, in her chair, looking like he hade no care in the world. His red hair and freckles were familiar, she was seeing them on Ron and Ginny every day, but his features were different.

Fred didn't look much like his younger brother, his built being much stockier with more muscles and his face bearing little resemblance to Ron, too.

"McGonagall said you needed help, so here I am."

"Thanks." Hermione said. What else was she supposed to say? Fred gave her a small smile.

They talked for quite a while after that. Professor McGonagall had given Fred more details than Hermione, so he told her that only very few people in the Order knew about the law yet and even fewer about the loophole.

"I don't think anyone knows though, that she asked me to marry you. I haven't even told George."

They also talked about how they would convince everyone that they were a couple. They came up with a plan and discussed the details until late at night.

Finally Fred got up from McGonagall's chair.

"I'll head back now. It's late."

Hermione got up as well. "I should get back into the dorm as well. Lavender and Parvati will wonder where I am."

"I'll see you after Christmas then." They stood in front of each other awkwardly.

"Do you think we should write each other? It will be easier to pull it all off if we know each other better."

"Your right. I'll owl you soon." Fred gave her a brief hug and turned towards the fireplace. He threw the powder in, waited until the flames turned green and then stepped inside. He looked back at Hermione.

"See ya. "

"Bye."

Fred was gone and Hermione was left alone in the office. She looked up at the portraits at the wall, which had been sleeping the whole time she had been there. Hermione spotted Dumbledore amongst the other former headmasters and headmistresses and suddenly her throat felt too tight.

She ran out of the room and down the stairs.

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During her mad dash towards Gryffindor tower Hermione didn't once think about being stealthy as to not be caught after curfew. She just ran, trying to put everything that had happened the last couple of hours behind her.

She reached the corridor of the Fat Lady's portrait without attracting the attention of Filch or a teacher. A few feet away from the entrance to Gryffindor tower though she ran into something solid and fell to the floor. She blinked away the tears that she hadn't even been aware of shedding and stared ahead. There was nothing there. She was about to reach for her wand when she heard Harry's voice.

"Hermione what are you doing here?"

Hermione opened her mouth to answer, but at that moment Mrs. Norris came around the corner. Hermione saw Harry's arm protrude from the invisibility cloak as he grabbed her wrist and pulled her to her feet. They crossed the short distance to the Fat Lady, gave her the password ('Devils Snare') and ignoring the portraits scolding about being out of bounds climbed inside the tower.

The common room was empty that late at night. Harry led Hermione to one of the couches near the fire, taking off his invisibility cloak on the way, and they sat down. Hermione was sobbing by now and Harry put a comforting arm around her.

"What happened?" He asked after a while, when she had calmed down some.

Hermione told him everything. She didn't give a damn that McGonagall had advised both her and Fred not to talk to anyone about the matter. She needed someone to talk. She couldn't do this alone.

Harry listened. He was just as angry about the Ministry's incompetence and when he realised the danger Hermione was in he threatened to immediately march over to London and tell Scrimgeour exactly what he was thinking of him, preferably in front of a Daily Prophet reporter.

In the end though Harry contented himself with something every best friend would have done in this situation. The only thing he could have done. He assured Hermione that he would be with her all the way and that he would help as best as he possibly could. "Just tell me what you need."

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The next day Hermione woke up hoping that everything was just a bad dream. One look into Harry's face told her it was not.

She led herself be dragged down to the Great Hall for breakfast, but was unable to eat something. Lessons were a relief, as they allowed her to think of something else.

Later that day Hermione was called back to Professor McGonagall were she talked the headmistress through the plan Fred and she had come up with to convince everybody that they were in a relationship. The conversation turned out to be rather awkward, because the headmistress kept shooting pitiful glances at Hermione.

Hermione on the other hand kept telling herself that things could be worse. At least she was forewarned and didn't have to marry some Death Eater. In the light of his current competition Fred seemed more than acceptable. That thought became somewhat of a mantra to her.

At first Professor McGonagall was angry when Hermione told her, that she had confided in Harry, but in the end relented that it was good for Hermione and Fred to have at least one ally to help convince people.

Harry surprised Hermione that night by proposing himself. Hermione declined, knowing that although they weren't in a relationship anymore, Harry still loved Ginny. She assured him that marrying Fred wasn't too bad. She loved him for the gesture anyways.

They did not tell Ron. Both Hermione and Harry feared his reaction. The youngest Weasley was not known for his rational thinking and the outburst that was sure to follow the announcement that Hermione was going to marry one of his brothers was threatening to reveal their secret to the whole school. So they kept silent.

Harry thought to himself that it was a good thing. He knew about Ron's deep feelings towards Hermione. He would not take the Marriage law and its repercussions lightly and Harry was glad to postpone the inevitable for a bit longer. Hermione and Fred had agreed that nothing could happen before the Christmas holidays, which they would all spent at the Burrow. Hermione was to spent Christmas itself with her parents, but then join the rest at Ottery St. Catchpole.

Fred stayed true to his word and two days after their meeting in Professor McGonagall's office Hermione received his first letter during breakfast. He told her about his live, the work for the joke shop and the things he did with George and their friends. Hermione wrote back, telling him about school and how she had told Harry about the Marriage Law.

They exchange a couple of letters the following month effectively getting to know each other better. Time passed by fast though and before Hermione realised what happened she was leaving Crookshanks in Hagrid's care and boarded the Hogwarts Express to go home for the holidays.

She was about to see her soon to be fiancé again. One thing she knew for sure: Her childhood was over.

tbc

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a/n: That's the first chapter. I know it's only build-up for now, but I promise things are going to be exciting in the second chapter.

I'll hopefully update once a week, since I already wrote 2/3 of the story and its currently being edited that shouldn't be a problem. If someone is willing to beta for me the help would be appriciated.

If you can spare the time, please review.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: JKR owns everything and I don't make any money with this story. The idea of the Marriage Law originated at wiktt, I believe. I'm just borrowing...

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**_Magnetic Moment_**

**Chapter 2**

The others had left only a few minutes ago. Hermione had sat in the Burrow's living room, nose buried deep into a book though not reading a single word, waiting. Waiting for everyone to go to have a hike in the woods surrounding Ottery St. Catchpole.

It was Boxing Day and she had joined the Weasleys a few hours earlier after spending Christmas with her parents.

The hike had been Harry's idea of a way to get everyone out of the house. So two days ago he had started to tell everyone who would listen how much he liked the snow and the woods and the nature surrounding Ottery St. Catchpole and that 'the Dursley's never took me on a family hike'. He neglected to mention that the Dursleys had never gone on a family hike. Dudley point blank refused to walk further than to the fridge and back to his room (though most of the time even that was too far and he made Aunt Petunia bring him his food instead).

Harry's acting skills weren't exactly great, but it was enough to convince the Weasleys who had no reason to suspect him of lying and who all new about his unhappy childhood. A hike was planned.

"Are you sure you don't want to come?" Ginny had asked one final time tying her scarf securely around her neck.

"Yes Ginny, I need to finish reading this book. It's bound to be relevant for our N.E.W.T.s." Hermione had answered lifting up the book to emphasize her point and to partially hide her face. She was a bad liar, far worse than Harry.

Ginny had relented and joined Harry, Ron, Charlie and George outside. Bill had been out with Fleur and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were gone on Order business. Molly Weasley had not gone without imparting on them the importance of keeping within the wards. As Harry had opted to staying at the Burrow rather than Grimauld Place for Christmas the Weasleys home including a three mile perimeter had become severely guarded and every person coming and going was monitored. The hike was to go in an elaborated circle around the house, 'not stepping one toe out of bounds' as Mrs. Weasley had repeated several times.

Hermione had listens to the door closing and to the chatter dying away as the members of her surrogated family left the Burrow. When she was sure that they were gone she threw the book aside but remained sitting on the couch. She was alone.

Except for Fred, of course.

He was somewhere upstairs. As for which reason he had given for not joining the hiking party she wasn't sure, but not particularly concerned. Fred actually was good at hiding things – a necessary ability for a troublemaker - and she was sure he had had no problems convincing his siblings of his need to stay behind.

Hermione took a couple of deep breaths exhaling slowly trying to summon some of the courage that a Gryffindor such as herself supposedly possessed. It didn't seem to come. Maybe she should have been sorted into Hufflepuff. She was in the middle of deliberating whether it would be any use to wave her wand and scream 'accio courage' when Fred came pounding down the stairs.

"Are they finally gone?" He asked.

Hermione only nodded as the lump in her throat was rendering her speechless.

"You nervous?" Fred asked coming to stand in front of the couch and gazing down at her with a concerned face.

"Which would be understandable, you know." He continued when it became apparent that Hermione was going to stay mute. "After all you are about to embark on an adventure many witches would kill to experience. I don't want to have to scare you, but I should probably inform you that there is a line – a long one – to…"

Hermione's laughter interrupted his monolog and Fred was relieved to see her finally getting up from the couch.

"It's good to know you are staying modest despite all the attention."

"One does his best."

They laughed together. But eventually the laughter died down and they stood in front of each other uncertain about the next step.

"How long did Harry say he would keep them away?"

"Not sure. He said he would fake an injury about half an hour into the hike."

"We should probably go upstairs then and get set up."

Hermione nodded her head her nervousness returning full force. She followed Fred upstairs into the twin's old room. Fred and George had after a lot of badgering from their mother agreed to stay at the Burrow during the Holidays. Charlie, Bill and Fleur stayed too, since Molly was adamant to have her family around in such dangerous times and nobody had wanted her to be unnecessarily worried on Christmas. Only Percy stayed away, still avoiding his family.

The boxes that had been in the room the summer before Harry, Ron and Hermione's sixth year were still prominent in the room. Also there were two bags lying around, clearly containing the twins' over night things and their change of clothes, since half of the contents were thrown about the room.

"George was looking for his gloves" Fred said by way of explaining once he noticed Hermione surveying the mess. He waved his wand and everything piled up onto one of the unmade beds.

"I take it that's George's bed." Hermione said grinning.

"Yup. He always was the messier one of the two of us."

"I'm sure."

Again they were in front of each other, nervous.

Fred looked down on his watch and announced that the others were gone for half an hour. They needed to get a move on. Hermione contemplated the summoning charm for her courage again. In the end though, she decided that what she was about to do was not a matter of bravery. She simply had no choice. Not really. Between a Death Eater and Fred she would certainly chose the troublemaking prankster. And if a make-out session with Fred was the way to keep her save from a marriage with one of Voldemort's cruel followers, than she would do that.

For that was their plan: Hermione and Fred would make-out and the others would, lead by Harry, come upon them. Surely nobody would believe that Hermione would get involved with anyone lightly, let alone with someone like Fred, who wasn't exactly known to keep steady girlfriends. After finding them the others had to believe that Hermione and Fred had like each other for some time already.

Taking one final last breath Hermione looked up to Fred.

"So what do you think we should do?"

Fred cleared his throat before answering: "We should probably take off our clothes…partially I mean. It has to look real." Hermione blushed but nodded.

So Fred took of his sweater and the t-shirt he was wearing and tossed them aside. Hermione slowly unbuttoned the blue cardigan she wore and let it drop to the floor. The tank top she wore underneath followed leaving her in a black bra and pants. She looked back up at Fred her nervousness having reached a new high. Standing this close to a half naked Fred and her mind on the things they were about to do she felt like all the oxygen had left the room leaving her breathless.

Fred had to swallow. He could honestly say that up until very recently he had never seen Hermione Granger as anything else but his younger brother's brainy friend. It just never occurred to him to see her as a girl, a quite attractive girl.

When he had discovered that Hermione would be the one he would spent the rest of his life with he had been too preoccupied to think about his family's reaction and the steps they would have to take to ensure that their little scam would be convincing and remain undetected. But he had never ever gotten around to think about how being intimate with Hermione would be like.

Now that she was standing in front of him wearing only a bra, her chest heaving as her breath slightly quickened Fred's mind was assaulted by a bunch of images featuring him and Hermione quite closely. Why hadn't he thought about her that way before? And when did Ron's bookworm of a friend grow up to look like this?

Deciding that he would think about that later Fred took a step towards her. He tried to think of something to say that would make them both relax and feel more at ease, but his mind was blank. He absently took another look at his watch and realised that Harry and his siblings had been gone for almost 45 minutes now. They would be back soon. Fred loosened his watch and tossed it onto the pile of clothes on the floor.

If words fail you, let your action speak for you. With that thought in mind Fred closed the remaining space to a waiting Hermione. His right hand lightly touched her underneath her chin and gently dipped her head upwards. For a brief moment they looked into each others eyes and he gave her a small, reassuring smile. Then Fred's gaze wandered lower to her lips. He bent down towards her and brushed her lips with his. His eyes fell shut.

Slowly the kiss became more demanding and Fred's tongue came out to seek entrance to Hermione's mouth. She met him half the way and the kiss turned heated. Hermione brought her hands up to rest on his shoulders and Fred let his hands roam along her uncovered back.

Taking a few steps forward Fred pushed Hermione towards the second bed, the one where he hadn't dumped all the junk on. His bed.

As her legs hid the frame her knees gave in and Hermione let herself glide down on the mattress. Never breaking their kiss, Fred followed coming to lie on top of her. He pushed one of his legs between hers parting them slightly. Supporting his weight on one arm the other was free to skim along Hermione's body. When he grazed the side of her breasts through the thin material of her bra Hermione moaned into his mouth.

Hermione felt on fire. The nervous lump in her throat had been swapped with a swarm of fluttering butterflies in her stomach and her heart was beating unbelievably fast. She led her own hands wander around Fred's back, feeling the muscles twitch.

Only when the need to breath became too strong to resist did they break the kiss. For a few seconds they looked into each others eyes again, both too surprised by the passion between them to utter a single word. Then Fred dipped his neck to trail a path of wet open mouthed kisses along Hermione's neck towards her collarbone and Hermione let her eyes fall shut to enjoy the sensation.

All rational thought had left Fred when he sucked at Hermione's neck. All he could feel was her body writhing beneath his and her foot that skimmed around his calf. All he could hear were the soft moans he wasn't even sure she was aware of making. When one of her hands travelled lower on his back and she let her fingers wander underneath the waistband of his jeans - albeit just a mere inch - he led out a moan himself.

His mouth came up to hers engaging her in another heated kiss as his right hand massaged her breast. Hermione arched herself into him and her own hand was retrieved from underneath his jeans to cup his left buttock mimicking his treatment of her right breast.

Fred broke their kiss in favour of licking Hermione's ear. She tilted her head to the side to give him more access all the while encouraging him with her soft moans. Her hand found the back pocket of his jeans, diving in pushing him towards her.

Fred grinded his growing erection into Hermione and groaned. Leaning in for their third kiss his previously absent mind came to a startling realisation: He wanted Hermione and he was about to lose what little control he had left.

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Five minutes into the hike Harry had come to the conclusion that he didn't like hiking that much after all. Especially since it was snowing and he was decidedly cold. The Weasleys accompanying him seemed to enjoy it though. They were engaged into an apparently quite funny conversation about Hogwarts and all the pranks that had been played there (mostly courtesy of Fred and George, though the rest of the siblings were no saints either).

But Harry wasn't able to concentrate on them much, his mind back at the Burrow with Hermione and Fred. Hermione was like a little sister to him (though technically she was older and would in all likelihood resent being called 'little'). Nevertheless Harry didn't like the thought of Hermione making out with anyone. Especially under these circumstances. But be that as it may, he had been unable to come up with a better plan and he quite agreed with Fred when he said that no one would just believe them if they went and said 'oops, have we forget to mention that we are completely smitten with each other?'.

This plan, if it succeeded was most likely to convince everyone and had the added bonus of giving a few extra months to their established and hopefully soon to be Ministry approved relationship. For Hermione and Fred planned to say that they had been with each other since late last summer when Hermione came to stay with Harry and the Weasleys at headquarters.

The reason for keeping their relationship a secret was easily explained. They didn't want to hurt anyone's feelings, which in essence meant Ron. Harry gritted his teeth when he thought about his best friend and the blow he was about to receive. Because Harry knew that even though his two best friends had decided against pursuing a relationship in the light of the war and the danger they were all in Ron's feelings towards Hermione hadn't changed. He simply loved her and seeing her with one of his brother was going to break his heart.

Harry desperately wished he could at least explain the circumstances to Ron, though he doubted it would make much of a difference to Ron's feelings, but McGonagall had insisted he refrained. The more people knew, the bigger was the danger of someone discovering that Hermione and Fred's relationship wasn't real. Additionally the credibility of the couple depended on Ron's reaction the most. As cruel as it sounded, Ron's hurt feelings which Harry was sure would be clearly visible for anyone were instrumental for the convincing of those people who would not be present to see Fred and Hermione's impromptu make out session. After all, which pupil at Hogwarts would neglect to believe Hermione was with Fred if Ron was heartbroken?

Hermione's safety came to a heavy price. Ron's happiness.

With these less than happy thought Harry kept on trudging next to the others, grinding his teeth in frustration, pretending to laugh along with them when the tale of a particular funny prank was told and ever so often checking his watch to see whether the half hour was up yet.

When he confirmed that enough time had passed he directed his gaze towards the ground they were walking on. He had early on discarded the idea of faking an injury, certain that he could not fool the people that knew him the best. So his only option was getting injured, only slightly of course, for real.

The opportunity presented itself in form of a root sticking out of the snow covered ground. Making sure that no one was looking Harry nonverbally cast a spell when he walked by injuring his own foot and simultaneously led himself fall to the ground.

"Harry are you okay?" Ron asked bending down and trying to help his friend up. The others had stopped as well and came to stand around Harry, looking worried.

"I just tripped over this stupid root." Harry explained trying to stand up but unable to put any weight on his injured foot. He grimaced as the pain shot up his leg, feeling quite unenthusiastic about his obviously efficient spell work. Damn it hurt.

Charlie took off Harry's shoe, inadvertently adding to the pain, to examine the injury.

"It doesn't look broken, but I'm no healer." he announced. "We better get you back to the Burrow."

"Sorry guys." Harry said, giving his best to appear sorry about having spoiled the hike.

"Don't be daft." Ron replied taking one of Harry's arms around his shoulder. Charlie took the other and together they helped Harry back to the Burrow. George offered to use 'wingardium leviosa' to get Harry back more efficiently, but Harry hastily declined. For one he wanted to make sure they didn't arrive at the Burrow before Hermione and Fred were ready and secondly he really wasn't stupid enough to agree to let one of the infamous Weasley twins levitate him around. He would probably end up doing loops and pirouettes in the air all the way back to the Burrow.

A little over an hour after their departure the hiking party arrived back home. Harry was seated on the sofa where Hermione's abandoned book still lay, although nobody took notice. Ginny helped Harry out of his coat and George put Harry's injured foot up on some cushions.

"Guys it's probably just strained." Harry protested, but to no avail. His insides were churning violently at the thought of what was about to happen, giving his face a quite sickly pallor. The Weasley's attributed this to his injury and were convinced he was in a great deal of pain.

"I have some cooling potion upstairs for Quidditch injuries." Ron announced. "That should help against the pain."

Harry desperately wanted to keep his friend from going upstairs, but he kept his mouth shut. He had to.

Ron, oblivious to Harry's concern, ran upstairs to get the potions. He got to his room, grabbed the tube with Conrad's Cooling Crème and turned around. But on his way down he became aware of the sounds coming out of the twins' bedroom. Moaning, there was undeniably someone moaning in there.

Ron went closer to the door. Then he heard a second person, definitely female and moaning just as passionately as his brother.

For a few second Ron grinned, the grin one boy grinned when finding out another one got lucky. Then he realised that currently there were only two females in the Burrow. And one of them was their sister. Ron stopped grinning.

Dropping Conrad's Cooling Crème to the floor Ron's hand grabbed the handle of the door to Fred and George's room and hurled the door open. He was greeted by the sight of his half-naked older brother atop of his best friend and long time love interest, who was in an equal state of undress. Their hands were all over each other and they kissed passionately.

Ron let out an anguished scream.

tbc

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a/n: I thought I would post the second chapter earlier, since I made good progress with the rest of the story today. I'm still looking for a beta though. If anybody wants to help me out leave me a note.

I'll probably update every Sunday form now on.

Please review if you've got the time. Thanks to snapehermionelover, mrs.draco.malfoy.2010 and MBPrincess for reviewing the first chapter.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: JKR owns everything and I don't make any money with this story. The idea of the Marriage Law originated at wiktt, I believe. I'm just borrowing...

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_**Magnetic Moment**_

**Chapter 3**

Fred and Hermione actually hadn't realised the others had come back, so consumed were they by the heat between them. They didn't even hear Ron opening the door. Nevertheless they certainly heard him scream.

Immediately they froze, but before either of them could react any further Ron had violently grabbed Fred's shoulders and pulled him off the bed.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" Ron screamed. However, he didn't wait for a reply before slamming his fist into his brother's face.

Fred stared at his younger brother, dumbfounded. When Ron moved to hit Fred a second time Fred instinctively raised his fists and defended himself. Soon the two brothers were locked in a fierce fight.

Now Hermione screamed, too.

Ginny, George and Charlie came running into the room. They were shocked to see Fred and Ron beating each other.

"What happened?" Ginny asked, but nobody answered.

George and Charlie immediately went to try and separate their brothers, which proved to be difficult. In the end it took Hermione and Ginny's help too, who were holding back Fred as George and Charlie forcefully restrained Ron.

At this moment Harry, who had had some trouble with the stairs, came hobbling in the room.

"What's going on?" He asked, though he had a pretty good idea already.

"Ask him." Ron screamed, still straining against the grip of his brothers. "Ask that bastard what he was doing with Hermione!"

"Look Ron…" Fred started.

Ron didn't let him finish and screamed further insults at his brother.

There was no need for an explanation anyway, as Fred and Hermione's state of undress, their swollen lips and the bite mark on Hermione's neck spoke volumes. The rest of the Weasleys seemed to be at a loss for words. Fred had stopped struggling though and the girls released his arms.

"Look Ron, try to calm down..." Harry tried to reason with his friend, but Ron wouldn't listen. He kept trying to break free from Charlie and George hell bent on killing Fred.

"You bastard, I'll…"

In the end, Charlie and George, with the help of Harry who had completely forgotten his sprained ankle, dragged Ron out of the room. Being the last to go through the door, George sent an accusing look towards his twin before disappearing. Ginny went after them, not speaking a word, not even looking at the couple, picking up the discarded cooling potion for Harry on her way out.

That left Fred standing in the middle of the room, sporting a black eye, a bleeding nose and several bruises on his upper body. Next to him was Hermione, white as a sheet and shaking.

They stood there for a while listening to the others dragging Ron downstairs. Ron's cursing could be heard all the way. Finally they heard a door close and they were unable to listen to the others anymore.

Fred sighed at let himself fall onto his bed. Hermione quietly started to pick up her clothes and got dressed.

"My brother certainly took it well." Fred remarked the sarcasm heavy in his voice.

"Did you really have to fight him though?"

"What did you expect me to do?" Fred sat back up and looked at Hermione. "Just let him beat me to a bloody pulp?"

"You could have…"

"What Hermione? What could I have done?" He sounded angry now.

Hermione hung her head and fisted her hands into her hair. The room was silent for a while.

"Let's not fight about this." Fred finally said.

Hermione took a deep breath and looked up again. Fred dragged one palm over his broken nose smearing the blood that had accumulated there. He winced. Taking out her wand, Hermione sat down next to Fred and started to heal his wounds.

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George, Charlie, Ginny and Harry had dragged Ron all the way to the kitchen. Though he seemed to be calming down a bit he had kept up a steady stream of insults the whole time. It did not take much to see how deeply shaken he had been by seeing Hermione with Fred. In the kitchen Ron let himself fall on a chair and rested his forehead on the table. He finally stopped swearing.

"I don't believe this." Ginny set down next to Ron and padded his back consolingly. "Did anyone know about this?" She looked up expectantly at George and Harry. The two guys shook their heads.

"I can't believe Fred didn't tell me." George sat down heavily. He seemed less shocked by the event that Hermione and Fred had been caught in bed together, then by the fact that he hadn't known about it. "We tell each other everything."

"Maybe it's the first time something has happened between them." Charlie, who had stood by the door until then moved to sit at the table as well.

"No way." Ginny immediately said. "There is no way Hermione would just jump into bed with a guy without being seriously involved."

"It's not like they were having sex." George inserted. "I mean they were still half dressed."

"You didn't see them." Ron raised his head from the table. He sounded angry. "They were all over each other when I came into the room. They didn't even hear me enter at first. How could they do this?"

Harry hadn't said a single word since he had entered the kitchen. He feared that he would give himself away were he to speak. He pitied Ron; it was obvious that he was heartbroken. Harry shifted uncomfortably. He felt guilty because he had known about Fred and Hermione's plan.

Charlie took out his wand and healed Ron's injuries from the fight with Fred. Ron didn't seem to notice. He kept staring at the surface of the table in front of him, his expression a mixture of utter disbelief, anger and hurt. In any case his physical injuries weren't nearly as bad as Fred's. No one had noticed of course, given the uproar in the bedroom, but Fred had mostly refrained from attacking his younger brother and restricted his hits to defend himself only.

Seeing Ron's injuries fade reminded Harry forcefully about his own injured foot. He was presently standing up leaning against the sink, keeping a bit of distance to the Weasleys sitting around the kitchen table. All his weight lasted on his left and uninjured foot. Adrenalin had kept him going so far, but by now Harry was feeling the effects of dragging Ron downstairs while walking with a hurt foot. Once again Harry was not in the mood to delight in the excellent results of his spell. He resolved to seriously work on his acting abilities so to avoid having to injure himself ever again in order to pretend to be hurt.

The pain increased by the second and Harry finally relented and sat down at the table with the others. Ginny noticed his discomfort and silently handed him the cooling crème. Harry rubbed it on his foot and felt instantly relieved even though the pain didn't leave completely.

While he tended to his foot Charlie and Ginny kept comforting Ron. George stared pensively into the air.

"I wonder for how long this has been going on."

If possible Ron blanched even more and Ginny shot George an angry look.

"Shut the hell up."

The kitchen fell silent again.

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Up in the bedroom Hermione had finished healing Fred's wounds and he had put his clothes back on as well.

"What do you think we should do now?" She asked him.

Fred shrugged his shoulders. Their actions after being caught making out had depended on the reaction of the others; therefore it hadn't made much sense to plan further ahead. They would have to improvise from now on.

"Should we go down and try and talk to them?"

"I guess. We can't hide in my bedroom forever."

Together they left the room and walked down the stairs. At the bottom Hermione halted Fred. She was chewing on her bottom lip and looking rather anxious.

"Do you think we should hold hands or something? They have to believe we're a couple." She asked Fred in a low voice so nobody could accidentally overhear.

"That's probably not the best idea. Ron's probably still pissed and we shouldn't upset him further."

Hermione nodded and they kept walking. Checking the living room and finding it empty the pair went into the kitchen.

Everybody in the kitchen looked up as they entered. Ron made to get up from his chair, but was pushed back down by Charlie's firm hand on his shoulder.

"Hi." Hermione tried, having no idea what else to say.

"Hi? That's all you have to say? How about you start explaining what happened up there." Ginny spat gesturing roughly in the direction of the twins' bedroom.

The hostile attitude of the girl Hermione had for a long time now considered a very good friend temporarily blocked her ability to speak. Luckily Fred was more composed than Hermione.

"Look guys, we're sorry. We know we should have told you earlier. But…"

"So you are a couple?" Ron interrupted.

"Yes." Fred admitted and Hermione nodded her head.

"Since when?" Ron asked in an eerily calm voice.

"Since this summer, when we stayed at Grimmauld Place, but…"

Ron interrupted his brother once more. Looking directly at Hermione he stated: "So you tell me at Bill's wedding that it would be better not to be together, because of everything that is going on, and three weeks later you get together with my brother."

"I thought we both agreed that we shouldn't be together." Hermione said not looking at Ron or Fred, but staring at her shoes instead.

"Yeah, I agreed with you. Because I knew you wouldn't want to be in a relationship while we're fighting against Voldemort." Ron spat. "Did I miss his defeat then? Because you obviously feel you are able to have a relationship _now_."

Ron shrugged off Charlie's hand that still rested on his shoulders and left the kitchen through the backdoor. Charlie got up and followed him. Harry hesitated for a moment unsure what to do. But remembering that he had agreed with Hermione that whatever happened he would not speak immediately on her behalf so he would not look suspicious, he decided that there was nothing gained from him staying. He went after Ron, resolved to at least try and help one of his best friends.

Harry had barely left the kitchen when Ginny rounded on Hermione and Fred.

"I can't believe the two of you. I never thought you would be so egoistic and hurt Ron just so you can have a romp in the sheets. And let Ron catch you? Can you get any stupider?"

"What is this all about?" Mrs. Weasley's voice could be heard from the backdoor that Harry had left open. She entered the kitchen followed by her husband. "What are you fighting about and why are you lot back so early? I thought you wanted to go hiking."

Both Weasley twins were shaking their heads and gesticulating to their sister to be quiet. This should stay among them. But Ginny was far too angry on her brother's behalf (and if she were honest on her own behalf as well, after all Harry had broken up with her for very similar reasons as Hermione had with Ron).

"We had to come home because Harry had tripped. We found those two," Ginny pointed towards Fred and Hermione a nasty look on her face "…in bed together."

"What?" Mrs. Weasley thundered.

"Fred is this true?" Arthur Weasley asked his son.

Fred had no choice but to nod.

"George, Ginny leave the kitchen." Mrs. Weasley ordered. George immediately got up pulling his still angry sister behind him. Once again he shot a look at his twin before he left through the door. This time it was sympathetic.

"This is appalling. Such shameful and irresponsible behaviour. I am ashamed of both of you." Mrs. Weasley shouted. She looked at her son.

"I expected more of you Fred. You were raised better than that." Fred was grinding his teeth and refused to look at his mother.

"We're old enough to make our own decisions." he told his parents.

"Not as long as you are staying under our roof." His mother screamed back at him. Fred did not answer.

Hermione looked at Fred and noticed how his fists were clenched. He obviously was controlling himself with difficulty.

"And Hermione, I am very much disappointed in you, too." Mrs. Weasley started on Hermione when her own son stopped arguing. "I was willing to believe that article three years ago was entirely made up by Rita Skeeter, but now I have to believe that there was obviously some truth to it!"

"Mum!" Fred looked at his mother in shock. Obviously he couldn't believe that his mother had just said that. Hermione recoiled from Mrs. Weasley's words like they had physically harmed her. She stood shaking with her back pressed tightly against the kitchen wall.

"Molly I think that's enough." Arthur Weasley said calmly. To Hermione and Fred he said: "You have to understand that there are certain rules in this house and as long as you stay here you are expected to follow them. I know both of you are of age and we can't control what you do outside this house; though I certainly expected more of you to two. You should have at least some regard for the feelings of the people around you."

Mr. Weasley looked at his son and Hermione, disappointment evident in his features.

"Now I think we have to ensure that something like this doesn't happen again. You will have to promise…"

"Don't worry about it. I'll be going back to my parents." Hermione interrupted his lecture. She felt sick to her stomach and desperately wished to get out of this house. Without even looking at Fred, Hermione turned and left the kitchen hurriedly.

She could not believe the Weasleys' reaction. Hermione had known that Ron would get hurt by her action and even though there was nothing she could have possibly done about it Hermione despised herself for harming him.

However she had not counted on the hostile behaviour of the other Weasleys. With tears streaming down her face she ran upstairs. She hurried inside Ginny's room and slammed the door behind her. Luckily her trunk was mostly packed still; after all she had only arrived at the Burrow a few hours ago. She threw the few odd items that she had taken out back into the trunk. The tears were running freely down her face.

A knock at the door made her freeze in mid-movement. Hermione was sure that she could not stand another argument. She stayed silent hoping that whoever it was would just go away.

"Hermione it's me," Fred's voice could be heard through the thin wood of the door. "Can I come in?"

Hermione went to open the door and Fred slipped inside quickly. It seemed like he wanted to escape the rest of the house, too.

"Are you alright?" He asked her, noticing the tears immediately.

Hermione nodded her head, though it was glaringly obvious that the opposite was the case.

"I never thought they would react like this." Fred's voice clearly betrayed his shock.

"Me neither."

"Are you going to be okay, back at your parents'?"

"Yeah, it definitely beats staying here."

"I know what you mean. I'll be going back to the shop once you're gone."

Hermione had finished packing while they were talking and closed her trunk. They looked at each other for a while both of them unsure what to do. Fred dragged a hand over his face, his expression unreadable. Hermione was forcefully reminded that she didn't know him that well after all. No matter what they had done in his bedroom and despite the letters they had written to each other the last month, she still barely knew Fred. And know they were somewhat connected, allies in this insane scheme. Hermione very much hated the Ministry and its stupid laws at that moment.

Fred sighed and offered to take her trunk. Hermione accepted and taking a deep breath followed him out of the room.

They made it down the stairs and through the living-room without meeting anyone. Hermione suspected that Harry had convinced the others to leave them alone for now. Once more she felt gratitude towards her best friend.

At the front door they ran out of luck. Mrs. Weasley was waiting for them.

"I'll be writing your parents about this."

"If you must." Hermione answered curtly and with a stony face. The initial hurt was blotted out by anger. She wanted to get out of this house and didn't care what she had to say in order to achieve it.

Mrs. Weasley seemed even more aggravated by her tone of voice and opened her mouth, no doubt, to give her another lecture.

"Leave it be, Mum." Fred said, his voice strained. He walked around his mother, still carrying Hermione's trunk, and left his childhood home. Hermione followed quickly not sparing Mrs. Weasley another glance.

They walked next to each other at a brisk pace. The three-mile Anti-Apparition radius prevented Hermione from Apparating directly and she had been unable to use the floo because, naturally, the Grangers weren't connected.

Hermione didn't know for how long they had walked, but when they reached the outskirts of Ottery St.Catchpole she could feel a faint tingling when they stepped outside the reach of the wards. She stopped and looked up at Fred, who had ceased walking as well.

"You should be okay to apparate here." He gave the trunk to her.

"Okay."

She was about to leave when Fred asked:

"Why didn't you tell me that it was you who broke up with Ron? I thought the decision was mutual."

"Would it have made a difference?"

"I guess not."

Fred looked at her with a sombre expression on his face. All of a sudden Hermione thought how rare it was to not see him at least smiling. She felt guilty. It was because of her that Fred wasn't laughing.

Not knowing what else to say Hermione took out her wand.

"Bye then."

"Bye."

Hermione vanished and instantly reappeared in a quite corner in the street where her parents lived. She took her trunk and dragged it behind herself. A few short minutes later she stood before the front door and rang the bell.

Her mother opened and was quite surprised to see her daughter so soon after her departure.

"Hermione, what happened? I thought you would stay at the Weasley's."

"Nothing mother."

"I'm sure it isn't nothing. We didn't expect you back until the summer."

"Can we please talk about it tomorrow? I'm tired."

Hermione walked around her perplexed mother and inside the house. She saw her father in the living-room, but did not stop to say hello. The emotional rollercoaster ride that had been this day had left Hermione drained and she was positive that she couldn't possible relive the day for her parents. Not when everything still was so fresh in her mind.

Not caring about the muscles in her arms that strained underneath the heavy weight she lifted up her trunk and walked up the stairs as quickly as possible. Once in her room she locked herself in. Shrugging off her clothes, she got underneath the covers of her bed. Head underneath the sheets Hermione allowed herself to cry again. It took hours until the tears finally subsided and she fell into a fitful slumber.

tbc

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a/n: Patience is a virtue; one that I unfortunately do not possess. So I'm posting the third chapter now, instead of waiting until Sunday.

I'm quite nervous about this one, since it was awfully hard to write. So please review and let me know what you think.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed chapter 2.

Special thanks to my betas MBPrincess and Lockofcurls. You were a huge help.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: JKR owns everything and I don't make any money with this story. The idea of the Marriage Law originated at wiktt, I believe. I'm just borrowing...

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__

_**Magnetic Moment**_

**Chapter 4**

After a night of tossing and turning in her bed Hermione woke up late and felt more tired than before she had gone to bed. She gathered her sheets around herself and moved to sit down on the big windowsill. The window in her room faced the front of the house and Hermione could watch the better part of the street; something she had done for hours when she was little.

Leaning her hot cheek against the cool glass just like she had done as a young girl she watched the street below her. Everything was covered in a white layer of snow and the late morning's sunshine made the icicles on the roofs sparkle. Hermione could see the postman walking past their neighbours' beautiful birds-house as he delivered the mail, one or two cars driving down the road leaving tire trails in the snow behind them and a few children building a snowman. The scene below her looked like a picturesque Christmas card come to life.

Hermione sighed. Years ago she would have been one of the children building that snowman. Back before she had found out she was a witch.

She closed her eyes and marvelled at the coolness that came from the window. No, she did not regret going to Hogwarts. But sometimes she wanted to be that carefree, bushy-haired little girl again that ran around in the snow with her friends and then came home to her loving mother and father to warm up with a cup of cocoa.

Her life wasn't that simple anymore. Instead it was complicated and difficult. Hermione sighed. She had spent hours last night thinking about the other day. Nothing had gone as planned. Well maybe it had, everybody believed her and Fred to be a couple that much was for sure.

They _had_ been rather convincing. Hermione's cheeks coloured every time she thought back to those minutes in Fred's bedroom, before Ron had discovered them. No matter how hard she tried to assure herself that it had all been an act, she could not forget how very real it had felt.

Hermione only left her room, when she was sure her parents were gone. They always opened their dentist-practice between Christmas and New Years, because each year there were people who broke out a tooth on the too tough turkey or who simply ate so many sweets that they got a toothache.

Her mother had left a note though, telling Hermione that they were going to be back in the evening and that they would 'talk' then. Of course she would want an explanation for her daughter's unexpected visit. Hermione was not looking forward to that conversation. After fixing herself an early lunch she went back to her room and got a few of her books out. Studying usually helped to divert her mind from more unpleasant thoughts (or the pleasant ones, she should not be thinking about).

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It was late evening when the Grangers returned to their home. There had been a vast numbers of emergencies which had them occupied until well after dinnertime. Additionally, there had been a commotion during the early afternoon when their elderly receptionist, Marybeth Catherwood, got scared by an owl colliding with a closed window. Mr. Granger had immediately convinced the flustered woman (she was a self-proclaimed animal lover and worried about that 'poor birdie getting hurt') to take a coffee-break with him to recover from the shock, while Mrs. Granger had opened the window apprehensively.

She was confirmed in her suspicion that they were dealing with a case of owl post when the old and greying Errol heaved himself into the room. Tied to his foot was a piece of parchment, which Mrs. Granger unfastened with unsteady hands. She had never quite gotten used to the 'other' way of delivering post.

Once freed of his charge Errol took off again, throwing himself out of the window and dipping several feet (the practice was on the 6th floor) before catching himself and with slow but more or less steady flaps of his wings, flew home.

Mrs. Ganger waited for her husband to return. It did not take long and he came back into the room, telling her that Mrs. Catherwood was currently busy entertaining everyone in the waiting room with an elaborate narrative about the shocking incident. Together they opened the letter. It was from Mrs. Weasley and the content was of such a nature that Mr. Granger wanted to drive home immediately in order to demand an explanation from his daughter. Mrs. Granger however convinced him to finish dealing with their patients first.

In retrospective, making Mr. Granger stay might not have been the best idea. He was understandably in a bad mood and each patient entering the examination room recoiled by the dark look on his face. Nobody liked a dentist who looked as if he would delight in causing the next person to cross his path considerable amounts of pain. Although on a positive note, all the patients who left the chair swore, with painfully contorted faces, they would take better care of their teeth in the future.

When the last patient finally left the practice on shaky legs, Mr. Granger had reached boiling point. He and his wife hurried home to talk to their daughter.

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Hermione had spent the day in solitude. She had made a valiant effort to get some studying done, but had failed miserably. When she wasn't thinking about the Weasleys and their hurtful comments regarding her recent conduct, she was reliving the cause for said anger (in detail). All in all, it was not a very productive day and Hermione awaited the arrival of her parents with anxiety.

The moment Mr. Grangers stormed into the house, a piece of parchment clutched tightly in his hand, Hermione knew Mrs. Weasley had followed through on her promise and written to her parents. She steeled herself for the confrontation.

"Young lady, explain this to me." Her father demanded, brandishing the letter almost like a sword and not even bothering with a 'hello'.

Hermione shot a quick glance over her father's shoulders to see her mother enter the room after him. Though she didn't look as angry as her husband, Hermione noticed how her mother pressed her lips tightly together and knew that she couldn't expect any support from her.

"Dad, it isn't what you think."

"I hope so, because you better not have been caught in bed with a boy."

"Er…" Hermione stumbled for words. She didn't want to lie to her parents.

"Hermione," Her mother started. "Did you sleep with that boy?"

"Noooo, God no. We were just kissing…and stuff."

"You hadn't even told us that you are going out with him."

Hermione swallowed. That was the part where she was _forced_ to lie. She had toyed with the idea of owning up to her parents and telling them about the impending Marriage Law: however, she had decided against it.

Her parents were Muggles and it would be difficult for them to understand how in wizarding society, arranged marriages could be part of the law. This concept was contradictory to everything what Muggles considered to be Human Rights. Her parents would not understand. For what it was worth, Hermione had been a part of the wizarding world for almost seven years now and she had trouble accepting this law.

"I have been with Fred for a few months now."

"Are you out of your mind? You used to like his brother." Her mother was visibly scandalized. "Mrs. Weasley wrote us your actions upset the whole household. What were you thinking? This is not the way we taught you to behave when you are a guest in someone's home."

"Mum, I'm sorry, but…"

"There are no buts," Mr. Granger continued, where his wife had left. "You cannot behave like this. And that boy, Fred? Didn't you tell us he and his brother left school? That explains a lot."

"What does it explain?" Hermione asked hotly. She was on the verge of loosing her control.

"Why you don't want to further your education," her mother explained. "We've talked to you about it on Christmas. Or at least we tried to. Why aren't you applying to universities? You have such exceptional grades, you are Head Girl. If it is that boy's influence…"

"Mum I told you, we are at war. Don't you understand that, there won't be time to go and study for some degree or diploma?"

"Hermione, you are no soldier, you are a little girl. No one can force you to fight. If you would just apply to a few colleges…"

Hermione almost screamed in frustration. They had had this conversation multiple times during the few days she had stayed with her parents over the holidays.

She couldn't convince her parents that the wizarding world was in an actual war and she certainly couldn't make them believe that she had to stand at Harry's side. Her parents turned blind and deaf when she tried to explain the danger they were all in. Compared to her parents even Fudge had accepted Voldemort's return with open arms.

"No."

"This isn't like you. We barely recognize you anymore."

"Mum, Dad, this is what I have to do. I am a witch and I am a part of this world."

"I wished you wouldn't be a witch!" Her father shouted. "We barely know you and it's your fault. You spent your whole time with those people, even when you don't have to be at school. You have turned your back on everything we have taught you. It's almost like you are not our daughter anymore."

Hermione looked at her father in shock. The pain his words had caused her was too much to bear. Hermione turned and ran away.

When she ran through the front door of the house she grew up in her only thought was to get as far away as possible. She ran along the familiar street for once not taking comfort at the sight of the old tree at the corner, where she had sat under as a little girl reading her beloved books or the pretty bird-house their neighbours set up every winter. It was impossible to count the times she had seen all this, it was her home, yet as her feet pounded along the icy street all the familiar sights seemed alien to her. The snow-covered houses and gardens, which in the morning had seemed peaceful and romantic, had turned cold and uninviting.

Once Hermione was sure too be outside the wards the Ministry had set around the Grangers residence in order to protect one of Harry Potter's best friends and her Muggle family, she grabbed her wand tighter and Apparated to the only place she could think of going.

An instant later Hermione reappeared in the small, walled courtyard behind the Leaky Cauldron. Due to the dangerous times they lived in, it was impossible to Apparate into Diagon Alley directly anymore. Hurriedly Hermione counted the bricks in the wall above the dustbin and then tapped the wall three times with her wand. The entrance to Diagon Alley appeared and Hermione walked through.

She didn't run anymore, owning to the desire to avoid drawing unnecessary attention to herself, but walked at a brisk pace through the thick curtain of snowflakes which had started to fall, her wand clutched tightly in her hand. At this time of the day, the late evening, Diagon Alley appeared almost deserted. Only a few witches and wizards passed, clearly anxious to get off the streets and into the relative safety of their homes.

In a matter of minutes Hermione reached her destination: Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. The store was closed for the night already. Hermione knocked at the door and waited, suddenly afraid that the twins were unable to hear her in their flat upstairs or that they might be out. She knocked again and while she waited she became aware of the intense cold surrounding her. Hermione had not stopped to grab a coat when she had left her home and the cold December wind was attacking her mercilessly, her thin sweater ill equipped to protect her.

When she knocked for the third time she was relieved to here a voice from the inside.

"Hold your Hippogriffs, I'm on my way."

The tingle of magical wards being removed could be felt and a key turned inside the lock. Then the door swung open and the face of one of the twins, Hermione couldn't tell which one, appeared.

"Hermione" The twin gasped clearly shocked.

"Hhhhhhi…" was all Hermione, was capable of saying through the violent chattering of her teeth. Her arms were numb with coldness and she was hugging them to her body tightly.

"Merlin, come in." She felt a hand take her arm and pull her inside the shop. The warmth inside only served to remind her how cold she was. She felt herself being led through the shop and through a backdoor towards a staircase.

"Fred. Come here." The voice seemed to come from a distance though Hermione knew the source was the man pulling her along.

Hermione noted absently that George must have been the one who had opened the door. She climbed the stairs with difficulty, feeling the heaviness of her bones with every step but George kept a hand on her arm and pulled her along.

"Hermione?" That was Fred, standing in the door atop the stairs, which lead to the twins' apartment.

She opened her mouth to explain her arrival, but found herself unable to formulate a clear thought through the fog that seemed to cloud her head. Instead hot tears welled up in her eyes until they became too much to hold in and spilled out, leaving burning trails along her frostbitten cheeks.

Fred recovered enough from his shock to step forward and wrap a comforting arm around Hermione's shoulders. He led the crying girl towards the couch of their living room and sat down hugging her body closely to his.

"Get me a blanket, she's shivering like mad." he said quietly to his brother.

George hurried to get the blanket and brought it to the couch. Fred took it from him and wrapped it around Hermione. She showed no sign of reaction but continued crying into Fred's shoulder.

"Shhhh…everything's going to be okay." Fred whispered, running a hand along her back. "Shhhhh."

"I'll make her tea. That'll warm her from the inside." George left to go into the kitchen, leaving Fred alone with Hermione.

The tears subsided almost as quickly as they had come and though Hermione was still shaking from the cold, she calmed down visibly.

"Are you ready to tell me what happened?" Fred asked

Hermione raised her head from his shoulders but didn't look at Fred.

"I got into a fight with my parents."

"About what my Mum told them?"

"Yes…it was bad."

There was a pause. Then Fred admitted.

"I don't know what to say."

"Me neither. I'm sorry I came barging in here like this, but I didn't know where else to go. Harry is still at your parents'."

"Don't worry about it."

George came back, a cup of tea in his hand. Hermione accepted it and took a small sip, feeling the tea burn its way down to her stomach.

"I'm going to spend the night at Lee's house." George announced turning to leave.

Hermione looked up quickly.

"You don't have to leave because of me. I'm sorry." she stood up "I'll go."

"No, don't be stupid. You stay. Lee wanted to tell me about his new job anyways." With a quick nod towards his twin, George was gone before Hermione could protest any further.

"He is mad too, isn't he?" Hermione asked, looking at Fred apologetically.

"No…at least not with you. He's just a bit hurt, because I supposedly kept you from him for months. We usually tell each other everything."

"I'm sorry."

"Stop apologizing already. It's not like you chose all this. We have to do it, remember."

Hermione let herself sink back onto the couch and sipped on her tea again. It really was helping to warm her up. She cupped her hands around the mug relishing the warmth.

"How come you didn't even have a coat?"

"I left rather hurriedly."

"Was-"

"Let's not talk about it." Hermione inserted starring into her tea. She heard Fred sigh beside her, but other than that he stayed silent. Hermione was thankful for that. The pain this day had caused her was still raw and she was tired. Too tired to think about what happened, let alone talk about it.

"The Pygmy Puffs escaped today," Fred suddenly said. "We've got a new employee, Tommy, who's a bit on the clumsy side. He forgot to lock the display cage. Unfortunately we only noticed when three of the little buggers sprang onto our shelf with the Tickle Toss Powder and knocked over a few jars. The whole shop got dosed in it. Let me tell you it's not easy to chase after Pygmy Puffs when you can't breathe for laughing."

Hermione smiled and Fred was satisfied. Mission accomplished.

They settled into a pleasant conversation about the shop, school and a thousand other topics, excluding any mentions of their families or their upcoming nuptials.

It was well into the night when Hermione couldn't stifle her yawns anymore, when Fred suggested they go to bed. He actually offered to sleep in George's room, but Hermione declined pointing out that George might think this odd should he come home earlier than expected. After all he was assuming that they were quite eager to share a bed only two days ago.

So it came to be that Hermione and Fred spent their first night together, though both were careful to stay on their side of the bed. Just before Hermione fell into an exhausted sleep, wearing a pair of Fred's boxers and a t-shirt with the imprint 'Carrot Tops Are Green, Einstein!' and snuggling quite comfortable underneath the blanket, she thought that she would have never believed that one could talk this easily with Fred.

Fred took longer to fall asleep. Seeing Hermione wearing his clothes had forcibly reminded him of their kisses in his bedroom at the Burrow. Once again he asked himself how he could have possibly failed to notice Hermione's appeal before.

Eventually though Fred succumbed to sleep as well and they slept together peacefully, with the possible exception of the times when Fred woke up because Hermione's hairs was suffocating him or when Hermione awoke feeling cold and discovering that Fred was hogging the sheets.

tbc

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a/n: As usually thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. You made my week.

If you liked this chapter please leave a review (if you didn't like it, review anyways and tell me what I should improve).

Many thanks to my two awesome betas MBPrincess and Lockofcurls for their quick work.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: JKR owns everything and I don't make any money with this story. The idea of the Marriage Law originated at wiktt, I believe. I'm just borrowing...

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_**Magnetic Moment**_

**Chapter ****5**

The next morning George indeed returned before either Fred or Hermione woke up. He let himself into the apartment a quarter before eight. Eight was the usual time for the twins to open up their shop.

George knocked lightly on Fred's door and entered. He was greeted by the sight of his sleeping brother snuggling close to an equally comatose Hermione. Her head lay on Fred's chest and his arms were closed protectively around her. Their bodies had unbeknownst to their owners found a position where neither was forced to die of suffocation or hypothermia.

George just smiled and quietly closed the door. He could open Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes by himself for once.

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Tommy Morgan was stacking a pyramid of Skiving Snackboxes ('special after holiday sale – two for the price of one'). He was concentrating very hard, determined not to make another mistake, as the mishap with the Pygmy Puffs the other day was still fresh in his mind. Who would have thought those little fur balls could cause such a ruckus?

He had been afraid to get sacked. Luckily, both his employers were blessed with a somewhat wicked sense of humour and actually thought the chaos was good publicity and added to the atmosphere. Tommy was relieved, as he thoroughly enjoyed his job at the joke shop.

Still, he had been a bit nervous this morning when he had been given the task of erecting the pyramid by one of his bosses (he never could tell which one was which), especially as he had to do it by hand instead of using magic. The Weasleys had, soon after opening their shop, discovered that it was safer to stock their shelves without magic rather than to risk accidentally setting off some of their more sensitive products. But the morning had been quiet, as it was usual for that time of the day. Tommy made good progress.

That is, he did until the entrance door was thrown open with such force that glasses rattled in their shelves. Tommy, who was in the process of adding the top piece to his Skiving Snackbox pyramid, lost his balance and almost fell off the ladder on which he was standing. He caught himself just in time to see a redhead storming into the store.

The obviously angry man marched up to the counter where Tommy's boss, the one that had actually shown up this morning, was currently busy filling out some ordering forms.

"Is she here, George? With him?" The redhead, whom Tommy concluded must be another of the Weasley brothers, demanded in a rude and impatient tone.

"Now Ron…"George, if his brother was to be trusted to tell them apart in his anger, started with the obvious intention to try and calm his angry brother down.

But Ron wasn't even listening. Without another word he marched behind the counter and through the door that led to the flat above the shop.

Tommy watched as George hurried after him, his face worried. Just after the last of George's robes vanished behind the door, another man, this time with jet-black hair (ergo not a Weasley) entered the store. He seemed to be in a hurry as well, though his progress was slower due to the fact that he was limping slightly.

"Are they upstairs?" The black haired boy asked Tommy, who was still clutching the ladder. As he passed by Tommy noticed the lightning shaped scar on the forehead. Tommy could only nod and then watched as the Boy-Who-Lived hobbled towards the staircase.

Before Tommy even had the chance to think about climbing off the ladder, the entrance door was thrown open again and a girl with flaming red hair, closely followed by two men whose hair was - not surprisingly - red too, appeared in the doorway.

"Upstairs," Tommy said, having a good idea what they were going to ask. The three Weasleys ran past him, almost tipping over the ladder in their haste to join the others, making Tommy struggle to keep his balance again. Clutching the ladder Tommy watched them go, curious about the reason for this invasion of Weasleys and their famous friend.

Just as Tommy was about to descend the ladder, he heard a furious scream coming from the flat above him. He startled, lost his footing and fell off the ladder – right into his pyramid of Skiving Snackboxes.

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Upstairs another fight, similar to the one at the Burrow on Boxing Day, was close to breaking out. George had been unable to catch his younger brother before he reached the flat. Finding the living room empty Ron had immediately surpassed his search to Fred's bedroom.

Hermione and Fred were still asleep when Ron barged into the room. The sight of them cuddled close together made him scream. Luckily, George reached the bedroom at this moment and he was able to prevent Ron from flinging himself at Fred. Harry arrived soon afterwards. With a curious glance at Hermione and Fred, who at this point had woken up and, albeit a bit disorientated and confused, where sitting in bed, Harry helped restrain Ron.

"What are you doing here?" Fred asked, clearly unhappy to be woken in such rude fashion.

"What am I doing?" Ron screamed at his brother, still trying to break free from Harry's and George's grips. "What are you doing?"

"I was sleeping." Fred stated dryly, his tone indicating that a three-year-old could have figured that out.

"With Hermione?" Ron screamed.

Fred was about to answer his brother, but Hermione spoke before he had the chance.

"I fail to see how this is any of your business."

"Not my business?

"Exactly! Where or with whom I spent my night is none of your concern," Hermione replied angrily.

The exact moment she said those words, Ginny, Bill and Charlie stormed into the bedroom. All three of them stopped dead in their tracks, starring open mouthed at Hermione. Ron, however, could not be deterred.

"Of course it concerns me. I am your friend and I have the right-"

"Being my friend does **not** give you the right to decide what I do with my life, Ronald. Besides I don't even know if you _are_ my friend anymore considering your behaviour towards Fred and me!"

"I certainly don't want to be _friends_ with you anymore." Ron spat.

"What are you even doing here then?"

"I was looking for you, because your parents contacted mine after you ran away from home. Apparently they're worried about you. Imagine that."

Throwing one last insult at Hermione and his brother Ron turned on his heel and stormed out of the room.

"Unbelievable!" Ginny muttered in the general direction of the bed and followed Ron. Both Charlie and Bill went after their siblings. They hadn't said a word since they came to the flat, and Hermione had the distinct impression that they had only come to have an eye on their younger siblings.

When only the twins, Harry and she were left in the apartment Hermione let herself fall back on the bed she had been sitting on the whole time.

"We Weasleys certainly know how to throw a party." George commented dryly.

"That we do." Fred replied heavily.

"Are you alright?" Harry asked Hermione worriedly. She had her eyes closed and didn't move.

"Hermione?" Fred asked as well. He was still beside her in the bed and extended a hand to her shoulder to get her attention. Reluctantly, Hermione opened her eyes and all three guys in the room were relieved to see they were dry.

"I'm okay. I just don't think Ron will ever forgive me."

"I'm sure he'll come around," Fred consoled her.

"Yeah, he's always been a bit slow on the uptake. You need to give him some time," George assured her. Hermione snorted and looked doubtful.

"Did you hear the things he said just now?" She asked George.

"Yeah well, I'm just saying he's not going to hold a grudge forever. I mean, Harry is okay with this, too." George said gesturing towards Harry. Harry shook his head.

"I don't think that's the same. I mean, I never wanted to date Hermione. No offence…" Harry paused for a second and scrunched up his nose "…but dating Hermione would be like dating my Aunt Petunia."

"Excuse me!" Hermione shrieked, finally sitting up again. She looked scandalized at being compared to the older woman, about whom she had only heard bad things.

"Well," Harry tried to explain his rather disturbing statement. "you're like a sister to me… and she is my only living relative…"

Hermione still looked like she wasn't sure if he was paying her a compliment or insulting her.

"Blimey Harry," Fred said, shaking his head disbelievingly. "You better hope that you stay famous…"

"…because you certainly can't rely on charm and eloquence when trying to woo a girl," George finished the sentence.

Everybody laughed.

"Well, I better be off then," Harry announced when they had all calmed down. "I'm going to try to pacify everyone at the Burrow." Hermione was once again glad that Harry was on her side. It would make returning to Hogwarts for her last year a bit more bearable.

"See you at the train," she told him.

When Harry was gone, George went back down to the shop (presumably to oversee Tommy Morgan's second attempt at a Skiving Snackbox pyramid), and Fred and Hermione stayed upstairs.

"I should probably let my parents know that I'm okay. They are mad enough as it is."

"How bad was the fight you had with them yesterday?" Fred asked tentatively. So far Hermione hadn't been very forthcoming with information regarding that topic and he didn't want to push her.

"Bad," Hermione said slowly, choosing her words carefully. "I don't think it was just about me being with you. That was only the catalyst. There were a lot of unresolved issues between us and my Dad said some really hurtful things."

Fred very much wanted to assure her that her parents were going to calm down and that everything would be alright again, but he thought this would sound stupid given the fact that he didn't even know the Grangers. Besides, he knew his own family and he couldn't even tell if his fight with _them_ would ever end.

"You can always stay here if you don't want to go back to your parents."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course. You're going back to Hogwarts in a few days anyways. I'm sure George won't mind."

"That would make things a lot easier." Hermione sounded relived, and as an afterthought, she added, "And I guess it will really convince everyone that we're a couple."

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Hermione Apparated to a secluded spot near her home and walked the rest of the way. She hesitated for a brief moment, but then stretched out her hand to ring the bell. Just like the other night her mother opened the door.

"Hermione, thank God you're alright," her mother called out, relieved. She engulfed her only daughter in a hug. "I was so worried."

"I'm alright, Mum." Hermione mumbled, feeling bad about causing her mother to worry.

Hermione followed her mother inside the house into the living room. There, her father got up from the couch on which he had been sitting with a glass of Brandy. His face looked less welcoming than her mother's. Hermione took a few steps towards him.

"Where have you been?"

Hermione looked her father straight in the eye when she answered. "I was with Fred."

"How dare you? Your mother and I have been sick with worry and you were off having a good time with your boyfriend!" Her father shouted.

"What was I supposed to do?" Hermione screamed back at him. "After what you said about me being a witch-"

"You should not have run away like this."

"You should not have said-" Her fathers glass, which he was still holding in his hand, exploded. Hermione stopped shouting and took a deep breath. Her father was still standing next to the sofa looking angrily at her. The shards littered the floor.

Hermione's hands were fisted into tight balls and she was controlling herself with difficulty. Taking one more breath, Hermione said in a forced but calm voice, "I am sorry I scared you. I didn't mean to. But I think it is best if I go and stay with Fred until I go back to school."

"You will not see that boy again and you are certainly not going to live with him!" Her father replied, still screaming.

"I'm sorry, but you can't tell me what do to anymore!" Hermione turned to leave and saw her mother standing at the door. She had been in the room during the whole fight, but hadn't said a word.

"I am sorry, Mum."

"Hermione-" She began to speak, but Hermione sidestepped her mother and left the living room. Slowly she went upstairs and into her room to gather her belongings.

Once more, Hermione threw few odd items in her mostly packed trunk and closed the lid. She looked around her room. It was very much the room of a young girl, complete with colourful wallpapers as well as books and stuffed animals on every available surface. Hermione had spent too little time in there as an adolescent to change it.

Now she was a young adult and even though she didn't dare to say it out loud it was unlikely that she would return to her room; at least not permanently. By the time she finished with school, she would already be Mrs. Fred Weasley.

Hermione had never much thought about what to do after Hogwarts. Sure, she had looked into possible careers when trying to select her classes, but she had never sat down and made practical plans for her future. Part of it was because she knew that before she would be able to have any kind of future she would need to stand beside Harry in his fight against Voldemort. No one would have a future before he was defeated.

Even if she had made plans, marriage at the age of 18 would not have been part of them.

There was a second reason why Hermione had avoided thinking about her future. It was because she knew that she would have to make a decision. She would have to decide whether she wanted to live in the Magical World or as a Muggle. Doing both at the same time would be impossible.

She had neglected her parents over the last few years as it was, and she had lost basically all contact to her former friends. On the rare occasion that she happened to be home there had just been nothing to talk about with them.

Without Hermione noticing, she had become a stranger to her Muggle friends and eventually even to her family. This was, Hermione was sure, why her actions today were so significant. She was leaving her home and she knew that from today on she could only return as a visitor; if at all. She was no longer a part of that world.

Hermione took one last look around her former bedroom. Then she took her trunk and closed the door behind herself.

Her parents were still in the living room. Leaving her trunk in the corridor, she knocked on the door and went inside.

"I've got my stuff. I'll go now."

Her mother came over and gave her a hug. When Hermione saw her cry she almost started crying herself.

"Be careful," Mrs. Granger advised, before squeezing her grown-up daughter one more time and then letting go.

Hermione looked over to her father. "Dad?"

"I've got nothing left to say to you," he said coldly and didn't even turn around.

Hermione felt like someone had kicked her in the stomach. Without another word she left the living room. Taking her trunk, she slowly made her way out of the house. She didn't stop to look back, but walked continuously onwards until she was able to Apparate.

She didn't return to the flat right away. Dragging her trunk behind herself and ignoring the pain in her arms caused by the heavy weight, Hermione walked around the London streets for hours. In vain she tried to think of something she could have done better; something that would have prevented the fight with her father.

In the end, she was forced to admit that she had decided to be a witch, to stand besides Harry and do everything she was able to do to help the Order fight Voldemort. The personal sacrifices she had to make were nothing compared to the pain Voldemort had caused others.

Anyhow, there was hope that one day they would defeat Voldemort and life would be happy again. Still, she was sad her parents hadn't been more supportive of her decisions, even though they could not understand them.

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Fred was at the flat when she returned. Without a word he stepped towards her and engulfed her in a hug. Hermione let herself cry onto his shoulder. This had seemed to become a habit, for she had done so several times already during the last two days.

Fred didn't mind though. He would hold her close until her sobs died down and her tears subsided. While she cried he remembered his first talk with Professor McGonagall about the marriage law. The headmistress had repeated several times how important it was that Hermione were to be saved from the Death Eaters. Fred thought it to be ironic that now it was not the Death Eaters who were causing the girl in his arms any pain, but their own families.

When Hermione finally calmed down Fred suggested they go to bed.

tbc

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a/n: Sorry for the long wait, but I had to do loads for University and, of course, I had to go and see OotP.

Thanks for all the reviews. I'm totally blown away. Keep the feedback coming and tell me what you think.

Also thanks to my awesome beta readers Lockofcurls and MBPrincess, who saved Fred and Hermione from death by 'hibernation'.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: JKR owns everything and I don't make any money with this story. The idea of the Marriage Law originated at wiktt, I believe. I'm just borrowing...

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_**Magnetic Moment**_

**Chapter ****6**

Fred and Hermione's second night together brought no change. They fell asleep on opposite sides of the bed and awoke cuddled closely together, with Hermione's head on Fred's chest.

The moment Hermione opened her eyes and realised where she was, a blush crept up her face. She tried to get up without stirring Fred, but found this to be impossible, due to the tight grip he kept on her waist. There was nothing she could do to get up. In the end her wriggling woke Fred up and he let go of her.

"Sorry," Hermione mumbled, getting up quickly and keeping her head down so he wouldn't see her blush.

"Ah, don't you worry," Fred answered with laughter in his voice. "There are by far worse things that can happen to a wizard than waking up to find a pretty witch is using him for her pillow."

Hermione knew he was only teasing her, but all of a sudden his words brought tears into her eyes. She retreated into the bathroom, before Fred could notice. The last couple of days had wreaked havoc on her emotions, and it had left Hermione completely confused and irrational.

She was unbelievably sad about her family's reaction and the same held true for the Weasleys. She had expected for Ron to be upset, but never thought that her supposed relationship with Fred would cause so many people to be angry.

Hermione was grateful to have at least Harry's support. She felt guilty about forcing him to chose between herself and Ron, but found that there was nothing she could do about it. She would have liked to be noble and say Harry shouldn't worry about her, that Ron was his best friend and he should comfort him. Except, Harry was the only friend she had left at the moment and Hermione was sure that she couldn't go through with all of it without Harry's support. She couldn't afford to be noble.

Of course, there was Fred, who was acting ever so sweet and understanding. But that just served to confuse Hermione even more. Two months ago she had barely known Fred. Sure, they had gone to school together - she used to yell at the twins when they were abusing first years for their experiments and he was just Ron's brother. Yet they had never been friends, never had a conversation that didn't involve all the others, and her opinion of Fred had been confined to the troublemaking prankster everybody believed him to be. Truth be told, she hadn't even been able to tell Fred and George apart, both their physical appearance and their characters seeming identical to her.

That day in Professor McGonagall's office had been the first time she had been aware of Fred, other than him being one part of the Weasley twins. Ever since then, she had come to realise that there was far more to Fred Weasley. Through their letters she got to know him a bit better and the last few days brought them closer together. Hermione hadn't expected this and, consequently, was quite confused by the sudden shift in the dynamics between them.

She liked being close to him – emotionally as well as physically. She couldn't deny that. Her passionate reaction to their make-out session (the thought of it still made the heat rise in Hermione's cheeks) wasn't even the most confusing part of it all. After all, it could be explained away as being hormone induced. Fred Weasley wasn't exactly bad to look at, quite the opposite in fact, and it was only natural that she reacted to him.

No, that wasn't what had Hermione so terribly confused. It was that she liked the small things about Fred; like his hand around her shoulders, when he tried to comfort her; his arms encircling her body, when they hugged; or just simply sitting close to each other on the couch and talking. It was comfortable and it made her feel safe, despite all the trouble they were going through at the moment. They were in it together and knowing that was comforting. And terribly confusing.

Hermione splashed cold water into her face and got ready for the day. When she exited the bathroom, Fred was still in bed, though he was awake and reading the Prophet.

"You okay?" He asked her, looking up from the pages.

That was another thing she hadn't expected. Fred was incredibly perceptive when it came to other people. She supposed it was a helpful trait for a prankster.

"Yeah," Hermione answered, albeit a little bit untruthfully.

Fred just shot her a look, revealing that he knew she was lying, but he didn't call her on it. Instead he got out of bed and headed for the bathroom, stopping by her side for just a moment to give her a quick kiss on her cheek.

Hermione was quite stunned and stared at the now closed bathroom door for a full minute. She was confused – but she felt better.

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They had breakfast together with George in the small kitchen of the twins' apartment. George seemed to have mostly forgiven them for keeping their relationship a secret; so, apart from the moment when Fred burned the toast, the meal went off without any drama. According to George, burned toast was a common occurrence when having breakfast with Fred.

Afterwards the twins went down to their shop (after Christmas sales were going strong), and Hermione settled down in the living room. Spreading her books around her, she pushed everything that troubled her out of her mind and concentrated on her studies.

That's how Fred found her around noon.

"I'm not sure if I should admire your drive or check you for brain-capacity expanding potions. Those are illegal, you know."

Hermione stuck her tongue out, but closed the book in front of her nonetheless.

"Some of us actually want to take our N.E.W.T.s."

"Are you sure? 'Cause that just seems like an awful waste of time to me," Fred answered.

Hermione shook her head and made to open her book again, but Fred grabbed her by her wrist and pulled her off the couch.

"No studying during lunch. Come on," he said. And without waiting for her to say something, Fred pulled Hermione with him, out of the door.

"We usually eat our lunch down in the shop, so we can keep an eye on everyone at the same time," he explained, while they walked down the stairs.

"There you guys are!" George yelled, when Hermione and Fred entered one of the rooms in the back of the shop, which Hermione immediately recognised as the staff room. The room was packed with people, all of them wearing the bright magenta robes with the WWW emblem.

"We had to hire some temporary workers, in order to cope with the workload during the time most pupils are at home," Fred told her, obviously trying to explain the rather large number of people present in the small room. Fred grabbed plates for them and then pushed his way through to the table in the middle of the room.

On top of the table was a huge pile of take out food. To Hermione it looked like somebody raided all the restaurants in Diagon Ally; the ones that were still open anyways. She helped herself to some food, taking her time to decide what she wanted to eat, and then looked around for a place to sit. All the chairs were already taken and some people were actually sitting on the floor.

She spotted Fred, who, probably due to his status as boss, had been able to get a chair. He was currently in a conversation with George and one of their employees, whilst holding his plate in one hand and occasionally shovelling some food in his mouth. Hermione walked over to them and gave a polite cough, "hem, hem," which would have left Dolores Umbridge green with envy.

Both Fred and George immediately looked up, then grinned at her. Hermione used Fred's current state of surprise and sat down sideways on his lap. She didn't like eating on the floor.

Fred laughed. Hermione could barely hear the sound of it through the immense noise everyone was making, but she felt Fred's chest vibrating. She turned her head slightly, so she could see Fred's face and saw the amusement in his eyes. She smiled at him.

Fred brought his free hand behind her head and, to Hermione's surprise, pulled her in for a kiss. The kiss was light and tender, and Hermione could taste Shepherd's Pie off his lips.

"Some of us are actually trying to eat." George's comment made them pull apart.

"Jealousy doesn't become you, brother," Fred replied, but continued eating. George winked at Hermione and stuffed a piece of chicken into his mouth.

Hermione wriggled a bit on Fred's lap, so she could find a comfortable spot, and, finally leaning back against his chest, started to eat, too. Though she appeared calm on the outside, her insides were jumbled in a confused mess. Had Fred just kissed her to convince his brother that they were a couple? Or was there more to it?

She couldn't make up her mind. Furthermore, Hermione refused to analyse her decision to sit on Fred's lap (they _had_ to pretend) or the feelings that shot through her body when he kissed her (_hormones_, of course). Still she couldn't deny that she was very comfortable.

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Fred spent the remainder of the afternoon deep in thought. George noticed, of course. He flat out told Fred that if he were to start acting like a love-sick puppy, George was going to hex Fred's hair green and charm his nose to look like that of a pig's, so nobody would know they were related. Fred told him to 'sod off'.

After he had knocked over more items during one afternoon than Tommy Morgan did in a week, and several of his employees had asked if he was _okay_, Fred went in the back to do inventory. At least, this way there would be nobody else around to witness his next mishap or ask stupid questions.

When Fred had counted their stock of canary creams for the third time, each time with a different result, he gave up on any pretence of work and sat down on the floor instead. Though he wasn't as shallow as everybody believed him to be, he wasn't overly pensive either. But he felt that a situation like this, called for some pondering.

Fred blamed his current case of clumsiness on his lack of sleep. He had shared his bed with Hermione twice now, and both times he had fallen asleep ridiculously late, because it was fairly difficult for him to relax next to her. She was just too damn attractive when she wore his clothes (for some reason unknown to him, Hermione had decided to keep wearing his shirt and boxers to bed, even though she had her own clothes at the flat now).

The attraction he felt towards Hermione had caught Fred off guard. Having perceived her as nothing but his younger brother's brainy friend before, he had never paid close attention to her. Of course, that had changed, once Professor McGonagall had informed Fred that Hermione was the girl he would be spending the rest of his life with.

Although Fred had never considered _not_ helping Hermione, he had been less than thrilled at the prospect of marrying her at the beginning. It seemed obvious to him that they didn't have much in common and probably would get bored with each other quickly.

However, the opposite turned out to be the case. Fred was forced to admit, the old saying "opposites attract" was not completely unfounded. He would never admit it at this point, but the kiss during lunch had been as much for his benefit, as for the sake of keeping their ploy authentic.

Fred had been worried whether they would be able to convince George. If anyone would see through their farce, it would be his twin. But so far George appeared to have bought their story. Moreover he seemed to have accepted that Fred and Hermione were a couple; unlike the rest of their family.

Fred had never expected this whole relationship … _thing_ with Hermione would be easy, but, just like Hermione, he had been ill prepared for the anger it provoked in his family. He was more than a little hurt to see them side with Ron so easily. Of course, he would have felt extremely bad, were he actually pursuing a relationship with his little brother's crush out of his own volition, still he couldn't help but think that everybody else had no business yelling at him. Ron and Hermione hadn't even been dating!

Frustrated Fred got up from the floor and started pacing. At least George had come around quickly. Fred couldn't have borne it, if his twin had stayed mad at him. They had never had a fight that lasted longer than a couple of hours.

"Everything alright?" George poked his head through the door.

'Speak of the devil,' Fred thought.

"I'm fine," Fred said, though his frustration made the statement sound a lot harsher than he had intended. He saw the annoyance flash over his brother's face before George left. Fred felt even guiltier than before. Here he was, feeling grateful, because George had forgiven him so easily, and then he had nothing better to do than snap at the one family member currently willing to speak to him. Maybe he should floo Percy. Chances were, the git was desperate enough for some contact to his family to talk to him.

"Are you okay?" The next person interrupted his solitary reverie, with that inane question. Fred was about to shout back that he 'would be bloody fine, when everybody stopped asking him stupid questions' when he saw that it was Hermione who stood in the door. So he refrained from shouting and continued to pace around the room.

He heard the door close, but didn't look up. The fact that he couldn't decide whether he wanted Hermione to be gone or not only served to antagonize him even more. Since when was he behaving indecisively around a girl?

"George said I should go and talk to you."

Fred considered killing his twin, but didn't answer. He couldn't explain the mood he was in, and he had never been one to talk about his 'feelings' anyway.

"I'm really sorry." Her last statement broke him out of his brood.

"Whatever are you sorry for?"

"It's all my fault, isn't it? If it weren't for me, your family would never be mad at you."

"Hermione, that's bull, and you know it. If anyone is to blame then it's You-know-who and those spineless idiots who follow him."

"But…"

"No buts, you didn't choose this and therefore it's not your fault."

"So you're not mad at me?"

"What? No!" Fred walked over to the spot near the door, where she stood. He brought one of his hands under her chin and tipped her head up, so she would look at him.

"What gave you that idea?"

"Well, your doing all this just to protect me … and our families are so angry … you wouldn't have to go through all of this if it weren't for me."

"This is not your fault." Fred repeated, all the annoyance gone from his voice. "I'm not mad at you."

"But you're not okay either."

Fred sighed. "No, probably not. But I'm going to be. We both will. Our families will come around eventually."

Hermione looked at him sceptically.

"Well, it might take some time," he amended. "Maybe a few years … or several decades perhaps. Nevertheless they are bound to miss us at some point and then they'll come crawling on their knees, begging for forgiveness."

Hermione couldn't help but smile. Glad that he had managed to cheer her up, and feeling a bit cheerful himself (though firmly ignoring the question as to why she was able to lift his gloomy mood with a single smile), Fred slung an arm around her shoulders and they left the room together. On their way up to the flat, Fred saw his twin at the other side of the shop. He mouthed a silent 'sorry' and George nodded.

Fred and Hermione spent the evening in the living room, both of them reading and feeling quite thankful for the break in the mini-drama their lives had become. They went to bed early, both of them feeling exhausted. Hermione opted to wear Fred's clothes again. Consequently, Fred found himself unable to fall asleep, regardless of his tiredness.

After lying in bed for about two hours, trying not to think about the witch next to him and feeling pretty ridiculous because of it, Fred was desperate enough to do anything, just to be able to fall asleep. He tried several methods of relaxation, all of which failed. As a final resort Fred tried the by far oldest remedy of insomnia: counting sheep.

However, he soon found this to be boring, though unfortunately not boring enough to fall asleep.

Therefore Fred tried to pep up the image a bit, and instead of counting sheep which jumped over a gate, he imagined Professor Snape, hitching up his black cloak and jumping instead. Thinking that it was a bit far fetched that Professor Snape would be jumping over gates, Fred's overly tired mind conjured up a steaming cauldron.

He counted the 138th Snape, jumping over the cauldron, by the time he mercifully fell asleep.

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a/n: So here's the new chapter. No fighting this time, but lots of Fred/Hermione interaction. I hope you like it. If you do, please be so kind and review. Reviews have become my drug of choice, so PLEASE give me more.

In the next chapter it's going to be New Years Eve, though I'm probably not going to be able to update before DH.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed and to my betas MBPrincess and Lockofcurls.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: JKR owns everything and I don't make any money with this story. The idea of the Marriage Law originated at wiktt, I believe. I'm just borrowing...

a/n: Obviously I can't change my story to incorporate Deathly Hallows, therefore the story is now officially AU. But don't worry; I'll definitely finish the story.

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_**Magnetic Moment**_

**Chapter ****7**

The few short days between Christmas and New Years were over quickly. Hermione and Fred had gotten used to living together surprisingly fast and, despite their families still being angry at them, found they could somewhat enjoy the remaining days of Hermione's Christmas break.

Fred and George closed the shop early on New Year's Eve. They had told Hermione hat they were going to a small party that Angelina Johnson was throwing. Hermione soon realized that 'they' meant all three of them and 'small' at least 50 people.

She had spent an uncharacteristically long time on trying to decide on an outfit, before feeling disgustingly like a girly-girl. Therefore, she decided to just wear some black cargo pants and one of her nicer tops. Leaving her hair down and applying only a minimal amount of make-up, Hermione left the bathroom quickly, lest she look into the mirror and see Lavender Brown looking back at her.

When she exited the bedroom Fred seemed to like what he saw at any rate.

They arrived at the house fashionably late (the twins had insisted) and the place was already packed. Hermione, feeling quite nervous all of a sudden, took Fred's hand and he squeezed it reassuringly.

"You're going to be fine." He told her, before pulling her behind him inside the house.

The first person they encountered was Angelina herself, who stood in the entrance hall, close to the door, greeting her guests.

"George, Fred," she yelled over the loud music that came from the living-room "I'm glad you made it," She pulled each of them into a one-armed hug.

"And Hermione." Angelina gave Hermione an enthusiastic hug as well. "We have to talk later," Angelina told the perplexed girl looking pointedly at Fred.

Hermione was spared the obligation to reply by the arrival of yet another couple of guests. George took off immediately in search of 'someone to kiss at midnight', as he told his brother and Hermione before leaving.

Hermione let Fred pull her along and soon found herself in the huge living-room. There were a few tables with chips and other snacks and a vast supply of beverages – most of them alcoholic. The music was even louder than in the entrance hall and since Hermione couldn't see a stereo, she correctly guessed that the source of the music was magical.

A few people were dancing already, whereas most of them were sitting on a mismatched ensemble of couches and armchairs, which were scattered all over the room.

As they moved around the room, Hermione noticed quite a few people staring in their direction and pointing. She squirmed uncomfortably.

"Gossip certainly spread fast, considering it's the holidays," Fred commented, handing Hermione a drink before taking one for himself.

"I noticed. Angelina didn't seem surprised at all that we showed up together." Hermione carefully sipped at her drink and, deciding that it was too strong, made a face.

"I expected that. She's currently dating Lee Jordan. According to George, she was there too when he showed up at Lee's a couple of days ago, telling him that he needed a place to crash so we wouldn't be disturbed. I would have loved to see their faces."

He took Hermione's drink from her and took a large gulp from it, emptying the cup by a third. Then he refilled the cup with more coke.

"Here, try if that's better."

Hermione accepted the cup back and took another experimental sip. The coke sufficiently diluted the drink and she found she actually like it now. She gratefully smiled up at him.

"Thanks," she said.

Soon they were joined by several of Fred's friends, who, although they refrained from asking them directly how they got together, shot curious glances towards Hermione.

Hermione didn't like the attention she was receiving from standing by Fred's side. Although, she wasn't overly shy, she had never been one for the spotlight, unless maybe it was due to academic achievement. Hence, she didn't appreciate being the main attraction of the evening. A sideways glance to Fred only served to tell Hermione what she already knew: Fred liked the attention. That revelation came hardly as a surprise, since the twins had practically been famous at Hogwarts.

Fred seemed to be aware, though, that Hermione was uncomfortable and did his best to insure that she could enjoy the party as well. He made sure she was supplied with drinks (Hermione was grateful to have something to occupy her hands) and he stayed close, careful not to leave her alone at a party where she didn't know many people.

Though she had gone to school with most of the guests, they had almost exclusively been in the years above her. Therefore, Hermione recognized many of them by sight, but was hazy on the names and certainly hadn't spoken to most of them before.

When they had talked about the upcoming party, though, she had had to agree with Fred that this was the perfect opportunity for people to find out about them. After all, that was what they wanted; public recognition, so they could convince their friends and family that they were in fact together.

Silently, Hermione had thought that convincing their friends, or for that matter Fred's friends, would be a lot more difficult than convincing their families. The Weasleys had only seen them make-out once and from then on were focused exclusively on their anger. They never stopped to look at the couple closely. Her parents had never even seen Fred, but relied on what Mrs. Weasley's letter and Hermione herself had told them.

Fred, who was developing a rather disturbing talent for reading her mind whenever she was worrying too much, had told her that if they were able to convince his twin, who actually lived with them and saw them every day, they could convince everybody. Hermione felt calmer after that.

"You want to dance?" Fred asked her, when his friends moved away to join the growing crowd on the makeshift dance floor. Hermione shook her head vigorously.

"No. I told you…"

"You sure?" Fred asked laughing. Hermione glared at him, though she was not exactly mad. She had told him beforehand that she didn't like dancing too much.

"If you could dance with Krum in front of the whole school, you surly can manage one small dance with me in Angelina's cozy living room," Fred teased.

"I almost died of embarrassment when I had to dance in the Great Hall. I didn't know there would be public dancing when Viktor asked me out. Anyhow, Angelina's living room isn't cosy. It's so huge; you could fit the whole school in here."

"Now that's exaggerating," Fred answered, and the playful grin on his face told Hermione quite clearly to be on her guard.

"Let's make this a bet," he suggested. Hermione eyed him suspiciously.

"What kind of bet?"

"Well I bet you, that I will get you to dance with me today and furthermore that you will like it."

Hermione shook her head. "That will never happen."

"So where's the harm in betting then? You're bound to win, according to yourself," Fred said triumphantly.

There were alarm bells going off in her head - loudly.

To no avail.

Later on, Hermione blamed the drinks (she had had two, both of them mixed with coke, at that point) and the atmosphere of the party. Whatever the reason, she let Fred convince her that it was a good idea to make this bet.

"What are the terms?" He gave her a victorious smile and Hermione had the ominous feeling that betting with Fred Weasley wasn't the smartest idea she had ever had.

"How about the loser gives the winner a massage?" Fred suggested.

Hermione swallowed; nevertheless found she couldn't back out now. She felt a blush rise to her cheeks.

"Okay." They shook on it.

"So would you like to dance with me?"

"No."

"Didn't think it would be that easy." Fred gave her a lopsided grin and together they went over to a group of couches were Angelina, Katie, Lee, Oliver and some other people were talking about Quidditch. They sat down and Fred immediately joined the conversation, whereas Hermione choose to listen to the music instead. She never understood what people found so interesting in sports anyways.

They had sat down for less than a minute, when Angelina suddenly jumped up.

"I have to go to the bathroom," she announced and Katie immediately got up to join her.

"You need to go too!" Angelina informed Hermione, and the two older girls pulled her off the couch.

"No actually…" Hermione tried to defend herself from the ambush. At that moment she wouldn't have voluntarily gone to the bathroom if she had drunk a barrel of tea beforehand. But the other girls ignored her protests and dragged her with them. Hermione looked desperately over her shoulder, hoping Fred might save her. He just smiled and waved. _Bastard_.

Once they reached an upstairs bathroom, Hermione was pulled inside and Angelina locked the door before sitting down on the edge of the tub. Katie leaned against the sink.

"Spill!"

"What?" Hermione, staying close to the door, asked in order to buy some time. This very much felt like the interrogation it was.

"You and Fred, of course. When did that happen? How?"

Hermione relented and told them the whole fabricated story about her and Fred really getting to know each other during the last summer when she stayed with the Weasleys at Harry's house and how they continued writing to each other once she was back at school.

"And when we saw each other after Christmas again, we just knew we wanted to be together," Hermione ended. Both girls were starring misty eyed and with goofy smiles at her.

Hermione worried about how much they had had to drink.

"Wow."

"That's such a romantic story."

"Well…" Hermione would have begged to differ, were she able to tell the truth. She supposed that nobody would think it to be romantic, were they to know that the whole story was just a scam so she wouldn't have to marry some disgusting Death Eater. Obviously, Hermione hadn't read enough romance novels (none, to be exact) to know that the hero sweeping in to save the damsel in distress from having to marry the evil villain was the epitome of romance.

"What did the Weasleys say?" Katie asked.

"I heard from Lee that they are angry?" Angelina asked slyly. Hermione suspected the girl knew most of the story already and just wanted to hear the gossip first hand.

"They were angry indeed. We hadn't told them-"

"Because of Ron? I always thought he carried a torch for you." Katie interrupted.

"Yeah. Mostly. He was pretty mad when he walked in on us."

"Ron Weasley walked in on you having sex with his brother?" Katie almost shouted.

"_Noooo_," Hermione assured the other girl quickly. If Katie kept screaming stuff like that, the whole party would be standing on the other side of the bathroom door, trying to listen in to their conversation. Hermione considered casting an Imperturbable Charm on the door, just to be safe.

"We weren't having sex…just kissing…on his bed." The blush she had fought so far, won, and colored her face.

"What happened then?"

So Hermione was stuck telling them everything that had happened the last couple of days, too. As it turned out, the girls had heard from Lee that Hermione was currently living in the twins' flat, but had refused to believe him.

"You're parents really kicked you out?"

"It's more like me running away, before they got the chance, but in essence, yes."

"Wow."

Hermione just nodded. She had no intention of discussing her parents with the girls.

"What are you going to do now?"

"Well I'm going back to Hogwarts in two days-"

"We know that. I meant, are you going to keep living with Fred after school? How serious-"

Angelina's questions were interrupted by loud pounding on the door and some drunken party guest shouting that if they didn't let him into the bathroom soon, he would be peeing into the next flower pod. Angelina forgot all about Hermione and Fred's relationship and hurried out of the room, yelling at the drunk that she would personally hold him responsible if any of her mother's prized flowers were spoilt during the party.

Hermione used the opportunity to escape the interrogation. She went back downstairs and into the living-room, trying to find Fred. She spotted him on the same couch where she had left him, still talking to Lee and Oliver. Although, when she sat down besides him, she had a feeling that the guys hadn't been talking about Quidditch anymore.

"About time," Fred told her, putting an arm around her shoulders. "I was considering sending out a search party for you."

"I can see you were worried sick about me," Hermione retorted, eying several empty shot glasses, which hadn't been around when she had left.

Fred just grinned.

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The next few hours passed rather quickly and Hermione was surprised to see that once she got over her nervousness, she was able to enjoy herself. After several drinks though (it had occurred to her at some point that she wasn't even sure what exactly she was drinking, but that whatever it was tasted good when mixed with enough coke) her head was spinning slightly. Although, not exactly drunk, Hermione, nevertheless, came to the conclusion that some fresh air would do her good.

As Fred was talking rather animatedly to some boy who seemed only vaguely familiar to Hermione, she went onto the porch alone. It was a clear night and she was immediately chilled when she stepped outside. Wrapping her arms around herself to get some warmth, Hermione leaned against the banister, which separated the porch from the backyard and watched the clouds her breath made in the cold air. She enjoyed the silence for a while.

A few minutes later the door behind her was opened and the music sounded overly loud against her ears. Someone stepped onto the porch and closed the door behind them. Instantly the music was muffled again. Hermione didn't need to turn around to know it was Fred who had joined her outside. She was proven right when he wrapped his arms around her from behind. His body was warm and, leaning back against him, Hermione enjoyed the closeness.

"Will you dance with me?" Hermione just laughed. He had already asked her a dozen times throughout the evening, hoping to catch her off guard. Each time she had declined.

"You're not going to give up, are you?" she asked him.

"No, 'fraid not," Fred replied. They were standing so close she could feel his breath on her neck.

"Good." She turned around and gave him a kiss on his cheek before going back inside. He followed close behind.

They came back just in time to hear Angelina start chanting the countdown.

"10"

The others joined in.

"9, 8, 7"

Fred snaked a hand around Hermione's waist and pulled her close to him again.

"6, 5, 4"

The guest screamed in unison. With the exception of Hermione, who was busy feeling Fred's body against hers and therefore currently unable to master the challenge of counting backwards.

"3, 2, 1"

Hermione felt Fred turning her so she would stand in front of him, pulling her even closer.

"Happy New Year!"

Everyone was shouting around them, when Fred leaned in to kiss her. He brushed her lips with his briefly then slipped his tongue inside her mouth. Hermione brought her arms up around his neck and opened her mouth to him. Fred led his hands roam around her back.

They were lost in their kiss, forgetting the singing and kissing people around them for a moment.

"Happy News Year, George!" A rather inebriated Oliver Wood shouted, patting Fred on the back. Fred broke away from Hermione.

"You too," Fred told his former captain, obviously unhappy about being interrupted and not even bothering to correct his drunken friend.

"And Happy Years New to you!" Oliver shouted drunkenly at Hermione, before throwing himself at the utterly astonished girl. Hermione hugged him back awkwardly, shooting a helpless look at Fred over Oliver's shoulder.

"That's enough, Wood," Fred said, pulling his friend away from his girlfriend. _Supposed_ girlfriend, he had to remind himself, because he very much wanted to hit Oliver at the moment.

"How about you go and get yourself a nice cup of coffee?"

"But's New Happy Years. I have to kiss people!" Oliver slurred and Fred took a step back, just in case. However, Oliver had already found another victim and threw himself at a passing girl, who, by the looks of it, didn't even know him.

Fred and Hermione laughed. Then Fred leaned towards Hermione again, obviously intending to resume their kiss. Alas, he was once again interrupted by some of his friends, only slightly less drunk than Oliver Wood, who wished the couple a 'Happy New Year.'

"Fred have you seen George?" Angelina came rushing towards them. "He's supposed to do the fireworks together with Lee, but he didn't show up."

"Happy New Year to you, _too_. Now that you mentioned it, I haven't seen my dear brother since we got here." Fred raised his eyebrows, but didn't seem overly concerned. He left to help Lee with the fireworks instead, and the party-guests, including Angelina and Hermione, went outside to enjoy the show.

"I saw you and Fred kiss just now." Angelina said in between 'ooooooooohs' and 'aaaaaaaaaaaaaaahs' for a rain of golden stars and a gigantic purple shooting star. "I was wondering whether I would be forced to conjure up a bucket with cold water."

Hermione blushed for the umpteenth time that night and was at a loss for words.

She had dreaded the party out of fear people wouldn't believe their act, but had soon come to realize that she had no problem convincing people. The problem was reminding herself that she wasn't dating Fred for real.

When the fireworks were over people went back inside. Those who hadn't been smart enough to bring their alcohol with them, in an effort to thwart the cold, immediately went to the tables with the drinks to rectify their mistake. The others went to refill their drinks.

Hermione went to a nearby table with drinks, too, desperately feeling that she needed something to get her mind off of the heated kiss she had shared with Fred at midnight. She rarely drank and consequently wasn't well versed in the assortment of long-drinks, which were covering the table. She picked a cup whose contents looked somewhat like the drink that Fred had supplied her with all evening and tasted it. It wasn't the same, but she found that she liked it, regardless.

Hermione had already emptied half the cup when Fred joined her, rubbing his hands together in an effort to warm them.

"What are you having?" He asked, peering into her cup.

"No idea." Hermione answered truthfully. "But it tastes good."

Fred laughed at this.

"I see, I have successfully corrupted you." He took a sip from her drink.

"Whisky-cola," He told her. "You might wanna be careful with the stuff."

"What was the other drink?" Hermione asked.

"Rum and coke."

They took more drinks and joined Lee and Angelina on one of the couches. Space was a bit rare, as most of the guests had chosen to sit down at this point and Hermione ended up sitting on Fred's lap. He didn't mind.

"Have you found George?" Fred asked Angelina.

"No, and I can't find Alicia either. I haven't seen both of them since they arrived."

Fred grinned, but stayed silent.

"You don't think…?" Angelina jumped up and down in her seat. As her seat happened to be Lee Jordan's lap, her jumping caused the boy some considerable pain.

"Would you desist," he snapped, trying to hold the excited girl on his lap still, "It's not that exciting anyways. It was bound to happen."

"It was?" Hermione asked.

"They have liked each other for ages," Fred confirmed. The four kept talking, all the while consuming their respective drinks copiously.

After getting them fresh supplies, Hermione came back to sit on Fred's lap. She wriggled around to find a comfortable spot, just like she had done during their lunch in the staff room. Maybe a bit more.

His hands shot to her hips, halting her movement.

"If you keep this up," Fred all but whispered into her ear, "I won't be held responsible for my actions."

Hermione's breath caught in her throat, but she didn't back down. She leaned back and rested her head onto his shoulders. Fred didn't remove his hand from around her hips. Angelina and Lee had abandoned their conversation in favor of a rather public make-out session, so Hermione and Fred were free to sit in silence, enjoying each others company.

Hermione's top had risen up slightly during her wriggling and unconsciously Fred was drawing patterns with his thumb on her bare skin. It drove Hermione crazy. She inhaled deeply and her nostrils were filled with the by now familiar scent of Fred's aftershave. If possible, she pressed herself even closer into his body.

"Will you dance with me?" Fred asked, more in an effort to keep his sanity while refraining from ravishing the girl in his lap on the spot, than trying to win the bet.

Failing to remember the bet, Hermione actually forget to refuse. She got to her feet, stumbling slightly, and once Fred had gotten up too, the couple went on the dance floor. The fast and upbeat songs from earlier in the evening had long stopped in favor of slower numbers.

Fred pulled Hermione into an embrace, listening to the drawn out rhythm of a love song, and together the couple swayed to the music. The heat coming off their bodies was intense and soon had them panting slightly, even though they weren't moving fast at all. Hermione raised her head from that comfortable spot on Fred's chest and tilted her head up towards him. Fred complied with her unspoken request and bend down to kiss her.

The heat between them intensified as their hands roamed freely around their bodies and their tongues dueled for dominance. All thoughts about the people around them had left their heads, as they gave into the tension that had been building between them all evening.

Funnily enough, it was Oliver again, who was green faced and rushing towards the bathroom thereby bumping into Fred, who brought them back to reality.

"Maybe we should go home," Fred suggested. Hermione only nodded. Together the two made their way to the fire-place in the entrance hall, which was connected to the Floo network. Hermione took some Floo powder from the jar on the mantelpiece and threw it into the fire. As the flames turned emerald, they stepped inside and Fred intoned 'Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes' as clearly as he could in his current state.

They were jostled about quite a bit, but managed to get off at the right fireplace, stumbling into the living room of the flat. Hermione would have fallen to the floor had it not been for Fred's arms around her waist. The bumpy ride did not serve to mix well with the uncharacteristically large amounts of alcohol she had consumed during the party.

"Are you alright?" Fred asked when Hermione kept clutching his arms, trying to steady herself.

"Stupid world's spinn´ng…" Hermione mumbled.

"Let's get you to bed then." He helped Hermione to the bathroom where she luckily was able to change herself into her night-wear (his boxers and shirt, of course). By the time she stumbled out of the bath, Fred had been to the kitchen and gotten her a glass of water.

"Drink that, you will thank me in the morning." Too exhausted to argue, Hermione gulped down the water and then let herself fall into the bed. She was asleep in an instant and Fred actually needed to cover her with the sheets, since she seemed to have forgotten to do so.

He sighed and changed, too. He lay down next to her and counted 1567 Snapes jumping over the cauldron, before he was able to fall asleep.

tbc

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a/n: Here's my new chapter. Sorry for the delay, but I'm sure you had better things to read this weekend anyways. ;) I know I had.

Unfortunately, the next chapter won't be up before the weekend, because a friend of mine is coming to visit and I won't have any time to write. If I'm unable to post on the weekend as well, I'll put a note in my profile with the new time for an update.

As always, please, review and tell me what you thought about the chapter. I'm really curious what you think about this one, since it is my longest chapter yet and loads of new people appear. So, take pity on me and REVIEW!

Thanks a lot to my lovely BETAs MBPrincess and Lockofcurls.


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: JKR owns everything and I don't make any money with this story. The idea of the Marriage Law originated at wiktt, I believe. I'm just borrowing...

a/n: This story is AU since DH.

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_**Magnetic Moment**_

**Chapter ****8**

Hermione woke with a pounding headache. She refused to move or to open her eyes, hoping the pain would miraculously go away.

"That's not going to work. Believe me, I've been there," came the amused voice of Fred from beneath her. She was once again using him as her pillow. Hermione just groaned.

"If you let me get up, I'll get you something for your head," Fred offered.

Hermione rolled off of him and buried her head in the actual pillows. Why did she have to drink so much the previous night? Why did she have to drink at all?

"I'm _never_ going to touch alcohol again," she announced.

Fred laughed. "That's what they all say. Buck up, you didn't even get sick. You could be feeling a lot worse." Hermione didn't deem this worthy of an answer.

He left the room, supposedly to get her the promised remedy for her hangover, and Hermione tried to go back to sleep.

Fred was shaking his head, but grinned, as he entered the kitchen. There he found his disgruntled brother, hanging over a cup of coffee.

"Why, if it isn't the missing Weasley. Happy New Year, dear brother," he greeted him.

"Shut the hell up!" came the harsh reply from George.

"What happened? I thought you spent New Years Eve with Alicia?" Fred took a slice of toast and chewed on it.

"I did."

"Shouldn't you be happy then? I know you've liked her for ages," Fred asked.

George snorted. "Happy? I would be _happy_ had she been actually there this morning. But no, she left sometime while I was asleep."

"Ouch!" Fred patted the back of his brother reassuringly and kindly refrained from pointing out that George himself had done this to countless witches in the past. Fred wasn't innocent by a long shot; however, between the two of them George was definitely the worse player.

"How was the party? I missed most of it," George asked, keen to change the subject.

"Great. Though Angelina might be slightly mad at you, because you didn't do the fireworks."

"Oops, I completely forgot about that," George said, looking slightly guilty.

"I'll say…"

"Is Hermione still asleep?" George asked.

"Nah, just refusing to leave the bed. She's having the pleasure of experiencing her first hang-over. Which reminds me, I have to bring her a potion for the headache," Fred said.

He went to the cabinet above the sink and retrieved a vial filled with a sickly greenish liquid. Fred left his brother to brood over his coffee and went back to his bedroom.

"What took you so long?" a grumpy voice greeted him.

"I was talking to George," Fred explained, handing Hermione the vial. "Take that in one gulp and I promise you'll feel better."

Hermione eyed the vial suspiciously.

"Come on now, bottoms up," Fred encouraged.

Hermione uncorked the vial and tossed it down. Instantly her nose scrunched up and she looked up at Fred with watery eyes and a look of utter disgust on her face. Fred was smart enough to keep a straight face.

"What – was - that?" Hermione asked slowly.

"Hang-over potion." Fred replied innocently.

"I think, next time I'll stick with the headache," Hermione said. Fred laughed and got back into bed beside her.

"The headache is gone though," Hermione observed. Before she realised what she was doing, she laid her head on Fred's chest again and hugged the covers closer to them. Then she fell back to sleep.

Fred didn't move, not wanting to disturb her. He hadn't missed that she had deliberately snuggled up to him. That was different then cuddling in their sleep. The images of their kisses the other night were still fresh in his mind as well, and Fred was wondering how much of it had been for show or alcohol induced. Had Hermione really wanted to kiss him? It had seemed like it at the time, but now Fred wasn't sure.

Did he want Hermione to want to kiss him?

Had he not been afraid of waking her, Fred would have screamed in frustration. The situation between them kept getting more complicated and confusing by the minute, and the stupid Marriage Law hadn't even been passed yet.

Fred didn't stay in bed for long, because he found that he like Hermione's body on top of his a bit too much. He slowly crept out of bed and went to get a shower – a really cold one.

By the time he left the bathroom, Hermione was still asleep and George had gone back into his room as well. Too restless to relax, Fred went downstairs into the closed shop to do some long-overdue paperwork. At least his current state of frustration led him to be productive, Fred surmised, and got to work.

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A couple of hours later Hermione came down to find him.

"There you are," she said upon entering the shop. Fred was sitting at the counter, focusing on the papers which were spread all around him.

"Ah, the dead have finally risen," Fred replied, looking up from the paperwork. Hermione stuck her tongue out.

"Have you had something to eat yet?" she asked.

"Except a few bites of toast, no," Fred hurriedly stacked up the papers around him and shoved them haphazardly into a drawer.

"Let's go, I'm starving," He announced once he successfully cleared the counter. He grabbed Hermione's hand and pulled her towards the stairs.

"What is it with Weasley boys and food?" Hermione asked.

"I'm a growing boy, I need sustenance," Fred answered. Hermione just laughed.

They went upstairs and into the kitchen. George still hid in his bedroom and while they prepared a late lunch together, Fred told Hermione about George and Alicia.

"And she just left during the night? That's nice," Hermione commented. Fred snorted. They spent the rest of their time cooking in companionable silence, both of them caught up in their own thoughts.

"I'll be going back to Hogwarts tomorrow," Hermione finally announced, as if Fred didn't know already.

"You're not looking forward to that?!" Fred replied, his words half question half statement.

"Ron and Ginny will be on the train, too. I highly doubt they've forgiven me yet; if they'll ever do. And there'll be a lot of gossip."

"You'll have Harry though."

"Yeah," Hermione sighed, "and I will be focused on my N.E.W.T.s anyways. Besides, it's about time I get out of your hair…"

"Don't be stupid. I like having you here."

Hermione looked up from the sauce she had been stirring while they talked. "Really?"

"What do you think?" Fred pulled her away from the stove and around so she would face him.

After doing the book-keeping for the shop voluntarily for three hours straight, Fred had been forced to admit to himself that he was not only attracted physically to Hermione, but that in the short time he had spent with her he had already come to care for her. This realisation, though glaringly obvious, had come as somewhat of a surprise to him. He certainly hadn't expected to develop feelings for her beyond the realm of friendship when he had accepted Professor McGonagall's request to marry Hermione.

Fred wasn't one for games though – not when it came to relationships anyway – and given their special situation, Fred thought that honesty would be the best policy. Since Hermione was staring open mouthed at him, he though it unlikely she would be answering his question anytime soon. Being at a loss for words himself and finding her opened mouth too inviting to resist, Fred renewed his favourite motto and let his actions speak the truth for him.

He closed the small space between them and captured her lips in a sweet kiss. Hermione was responding to him immediately and for a while they were reduced to their lips and tongues dancing together.

Finally Fred pulled away slightly. He waited until Hermione opened her eyes. "Does that mean you'll go out with me?" he asked. Hermione laughed.

They were forced to return their attention to their cooking then, because the sauce smelled faintly burnt.

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George ventured out of his room by late afternoon. The sight of his brother cuddled closely to his girlfriend on their living-room couch did nothing to improve his mood. He was ready to swear off women altogether. He considered returning to his room, but unfortunately the happy couple had heard him enter and looked up.

"Still in a bad mood," his twin commented, immediately picking up on the vibes George was sending.

"So what?" George snapped, hardly in the mood to appreciate the brotherly bond that connected them and allowed them to intuitively sense each others moods. He let himself fall into an armchair.

He spared the two on the couch a quick glance. Something was different, though he couldn't but his finger on it. The bond worked both ways.

"Happy New Year," Hermione told him.

"You too," George told her with little enthusiasm.

"Have you heard from Alicia yet?" Fred asked.

"Let's not talk about that. Are either of you going to the dinner tonight?"

"Dinner?"

"The New Years dinner Mum has been planning for weeks. Did you forget about it?" Their horrified faces told George that they had. "So are you going?" The living room fell silent.

"Over my dead body. Ron's just going to shout at me again – or worse," Fred finally answered and Hermione nodded her assent.

"That's what I thought," George got up with a sigh, "I'd better get ready then. Mum's never going to forgive me if I stay away, too."

He left the room. The mood between Hermione and Fred had changed drastically. Whereas they had been relaxed and happy before George had reminded them of the dinner at the Burrow, they now were tense and distinctly unhappy.

"I'm sorry you can't go to your family dinner because of me," Hermione said in a small voice.

Fred shook his head in annoyance. "How many times do I have to tell you that it's not your fault?"

"Sorry." Hermione retreated to the other side of the couch and picked up a random textbook trying to focus on the words in front of her, though failing miserably due to the tears that burnt in her eyes and blurred her vision.

George soon re-entered the room, now wearing a white dress shirt and slacks. He took on look at Hermione and Fred sitting with stony faces at opposite sides of the couch, noticing the tears in Hermione's eyes and Fred pressing his lips tightly together, and practically ran for the fireplace. George barely allowed himself time to shout a good-bye before he threw the Floo powder, stepped into the green flames and vanished.

Hermione and Fred remained behind and continued giving each other the silent treatment for almost half an hour. Finally Fred broke and apologized, which caused Hermione to actually shed a few of the tears she had so desperately been trying to hold in. Fred quickly moved to her site of the couch and, not entirely sure how to treat a crying female, kissed her.

This proved to be the right thing to do. Hermione melted into his arms and returned his kiss with interest. Fred pulled her down so she would lie on the couch and covered her body with his. Only when he needed to breathe, he pulled away from the kiss and trailed a path of small kisses down the side of her face towards her neck.

"You know, I just remembered that you owe me a message," Fred announced in between kisses.

"What?" Hermione chocked out, having difficulty to follow Fred's words.

"Well you did dance with me yesterday," he started sucking on her collarbone, "Which means, I won our bet."

Hermione needed to take a deep breath before she was able to answer him.

"Who says I actually enjoyed that?"

"Very funny." He stopped his ministrations on her collarbone and moved up to kiss her again. There wasn't any room for words, until Hermione finally broke the kiss.

"Okay then." She suddenly sat up on the couch pushing Fred up with her. Before Fred somewhat comprehended what she was doing Hermione had pulled his shirt above his head and threw it out of the way. Then she moved off the couch so he could lie on his stomach. When she straddled his backside, Fred realised that insisting on that massage had not been a good idea.

Not that he didn't like her sitting astride his ass or kneading his naked back with her small hands – because he did immensely. But about five seconds into the massage he remembered forcefully how close he had come to loosing all control with her twice already (once in his bedroom at the Burrow, the second time at the party the other day).

The knowledge that he was heading straight for trouble didn't make him stop Hermione though. He didn't want to; her hands roaming around his back and neck felt too good. Besides he had won that bet fair and square. So Fred did the only thing any male in his position would have done – he quit thinking and enjoyed himself.

Hermione kneaded his back until every muscle in his back felt like putty underneath her hands. He was incredibly relaxed by then and therefore not expecting her next move at all.

She bent forward and whispered into his ear: "Turn around."

Fred's eyes shot open. _Did she mean…?_ Before he could think any further about her request he felt her weight lift from his back and his body reacted before his mind had a chance to catch up. He found himself lying with his back on the couch, Hermione straddling his lower stomach. She continued to give his chest and arms the same treatment she had given his back.

Fred kept his eyes trained on her face, marvelling in her focused expression. She was concentrating completely on him and he was fighting hard to keep his control.

Once his muscles were kneaded to her satisfaction, Hermione leaned forward and kissed him slowly and deliberately. Both their eyes fell shut as Hermione explored his mouth with her tongue. Fred raised his hands to her hips and slid them underneath her shirt. He led them roam around her bare back until he reached her bra.

He was about to pull the shirt over her head when the flames in the fireplaces suddenly flared up. George appeared in the fireplace a sour expression on his face. Dinner had obviously not been fun.

Hermione and Fred had ceased moving, but there hadn't been time to change the rather compromising position they were in.

"Really." George admonished with a rather wicked grin, once he realised what he had just walked in on. "Your bedroom is less than 10 feet away." He exited the living-room quickly. On his way out he called: "Wait until I tell Lee and Angelina …" He let the door fall shut behind him.

Fred and Hermione took one look at each other then burst out laughing. When they were able to breath normally again, Hermione got off of Fred and they righted their clothes. The mood was effectively ruined.

"I need to pack my trunk anyways," Hermione mumbled, embarrassed.

"I should probably go and check with George about dinner." Fred gave Hermione a quick kiss and went to find his brother.

Hermione started picking up her books that were scattered all over the room, her mind still back on the scene on the couch. It took her a full 10 minutes to realize that packing would be so much easier if she were to use her wand. So she did.

George told Fred the details of the family dinner, which had been terribly unpleasant as everybody had noticed Fred and Hermione's absence, though nobody dared to comment on it. Percy hadn't been present either.

"I got out of there as fast as I could. By the looks of it, your evening was far more enjoyable than mine," George ended his account. Fred shoved him, though there was no force behind it.

They met up with Hermione in the kitchen, where both she and Fred had a snack. George was still stuffed. Apparently Mrs. Weasleys cooking had been the only benefit to the whole evening, and since there had barely been any conversation out of fear of saying the wrong thing, everybody had busied themselves with putting food in their stomachs.

The three of them fell into a comfortable conversation, but soon called it a night. Everybody had to get up early the next day. It was time for Hermione to board the Hogwarts Express for the last time and both twins had promised to accompany her to the platform. They knew how much she was dreading her next encounter with their family.

At night when he listened to Hermione's even breaths next to him, Fred realized how much he would miss her sleeping beside him. He would miss her. Period. Definitely a first time for him, as he had never been remotely as close to any of his previous girlfriends as he was to Hermione. He wasn't looking forward to the separation.

Although, Fred had hopes of at least being able to fall asleep in a timely manner when Hermione was far away in Scotland. He counted 3294 cauldron jumping Snapes that night until he was able to stop thinking about Hermione's hands massaging his upper body and fell asleep.

tbc

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a./n.: Sorry for the long wait guys, but I was insanely busy last week. The good news is that once I survive this week, I'll be back home at my dad's for the summer and I'll have lots of time for writing.

I was completely blown away when I noticed I have already received **120 **reviews for this story. Needless to say I never expected to get this much. Thanks to everyone who reviewed, it really means a lot.

Also thanks to my lovely BETAs MBPrincess and Lockofcurls.


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: JKR owns everything and I don't make any money with this story. The idea of the Marriage Law originated at wiktt, I believe. I'm just borrowing...

a/n: This story is AU since DH.

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_**Magnetic Moment**_

**Chapter ****9**

When Hermione woke up the next morning she stayed as still as she possibly could. She knew that it would be time to leave for Hogwarts soon, but she just couldn't bring herself to get up; it felt too good laying close to Fred. Her head was rising and falling with every breath he took and she felt warm and cosy. Hermione wished she could stay like this forever.

It had only been a few short days since she had run out of her home and came to stay with Fred, although, it certainly felt like much longer. Hermione couldn't explain what had happened between them. One day they were beginning a tentative friendship and she mostly felt grateful that Fred had agreed to save her from an unwanted marriage, the next day her heart started beating faster whenever he was in the room and she felt hot all over when he touched her. It was confusing, but at the same time it was the most exhilarating feeling she had ever experienced.

The alarm charm Fred had set the night before went off and Fred began to stir.

"Morning. Ready to go back to school?" he asked.

"No." Hermione didn't move from her spot atop of Fred and consequently he couldn't get up either; though he generally thought that this was a small price to pay for a position that comfortable.

"Not that I mind being in bed with you, quite the contrary actually, but if we don't get up soon, you'll miss the Express," Fred said, gently nudging her to get up.

"Don't care," Hermione mumbled, refusing to budge from her comfortable position atop Fred.

Fred stayed still for a moment. He knew Hermione was dreading going back to school because she was afraid to see Ron and Ginny again. He couldn't blame her; they had both been horrible to her.

"You can't hide in here forever," Fred finally said, his voice soft.

"I know," Hermione replied, still without showing any intentions of ever wanting to get up.

"Of course I could always Apparate to the platform and tell dear Ronniekins that you couldn't come because you refuse to leave my bed. His reaction should be fun to watch," Fred tried.

"After he has walked in on us sharing a bed twice already, I don't think it would come as too much of a shock for him," Hermione replied. Nevertheless, she grudgingly got out of bed. Fred was right; it was time to face the music.

Hermione reluctantly dragged herself into the bathroom and slowly got ready for the day. When she was done, she used her wand to gather her things from the bathroom and dumped them in her trunk. She picked up a few items, which were scattered over the bedroom and had been missed the night before, and threw them inside as well.

Fred had left the bedroom, presumably to get some breakfast, and Hermione was left alone. Before she shut the trunk she put his t-shirt and boxers, which she had been wearing every night, into her trunk as well. Hermione couldn't quite figure out what possessed her to wear his clothes to bed. She just knew that she liked the feeling and since Fred hadn't said anything to the contrary, she presumed he didn't mind. Nevertheless, she was glad that he hadn't seen her pack them.

She exited the bedroom and her nostrils picked up the smell of pancakes. She went into the kitchen and saw Fred in front of the stove with a frying pan in hand and a stack of pancakes next to him.

"Did you get everything packed?" he asked when Hermione entered the kitchen.

"Yes, all done. You can cook?" Hermione looked at him sceptically.

"Of course I can cook. You _have_ seen me do it already," Fred said indignantly. Hermione remembered the other day when they had cooked lunch together and kissed.

"Well, I've never seen you do it all by yourself. No offence, but I know what you can do to toast." Hermione grinned at him.

Before Fred was able to retaliate, George came into the room.

"I'm with you, Hermione. Fred in the kitchen _always_ is a cause to worry."

"Ha, ha," Fred finished baking the last pancake and turned off the stove. "That's what I get for slaving away in the kitchen for you guys. But if you don't want to eat my pancakes I'll just have to eat them all by myself."

Fred placed the stack of pancakes on the table and put the top one on his plate. After applying liberal amounts of syrup, he started to eat.

"We never said we wouldn't eat them, bro," George said hurriedly.

"Yeah, we wouldn't want to hurt your feelings," Hermione added.

All of them started laughing. Hermione and George sat down at the table and helped themselves to some pancakes, too. They were surprisingly good.

They had a relaxed meal together, but all too soon it was time to leave. Fred retrieved Hermione's trunk from his bedroom and together all three left the apartment. They walked quietly through Diagon Alley, each of them lost in their own thoughts. When they reached the brick wall that posed as barrier between the Muggle and the magical world, they pause for a moment.

"You sure you want me to come, too? I could go back and watch the shop or something," George suggested.

"You promised, George."

Hermione hated how desperate she sounded. She just figured it would be easier to have them both at her side when she got to the platform. There would be enough people there who would be angry with her. It was good to know that the twins were there with her.

"Yeah well-" George started.

"Chickening out, brother of mine?" Fred asked. "What a shame. I don't even know what you're scared of. No one is angry with you. You're not the one who corrupted our innocent, little Hermione here."

George gave a snort and Hermione smacked Fred's arm. "I'm not little."

"They are mad at me, because I'm not mad at you," George explained.

"Sorry George, we didn't mean to drag you into all of this." Hermione sounded sad.

"Don't worry. This will blow over eventually," Fred reassured her and George nodded.

They passed through the passage in the wall and once they were on the other side Apparated to King's Cross.

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Platform 9 ¾ was already packed with pupils dragging their oversized trunks after and parents trying to kiss their offspring goodbye. The air was filled with a pandemonium of loud voices, the odd animalistic screams of owls or cats mixed in between.

Hermione instinctively grabbed Fred's hand and looked around for familiar faces. Almost immediately she spotted the bulk of redheads further down the platform. Bill and Charlie had joined their mother as she was bringing her two youngest children to school. Hermione noted that Mr. Weasley wasn't present, probably at the Ministry she thought, but Harry was standing next to them with a sour expression on his face.

Hermione took a deep breath. She desperately hoped there wouldn't be another scene. She hated to fight with the Weasleys and she definitely didn't want to do it in front of the entire student body.

"Just relax. It's not going to be as bad as you think," Fred said, squeezing her hand. She smiled gratefully up at him.

"I hope so."

At that moment Harry saw them. He turned to Bill, Charlie and Mrs. Weasley and it looked like he was saying good-bye to them. Hermione noticed that Mrs. Weasley only gave him a very tight smile and hugged him stiffly. Her oldest sons didn't seem sorry to see Harry go either. As soon as he left, their attention was back on Ron and Ginny.

Harry walked over to Hermione, Fred and George.

"Hello, I was hoping you would arrive soon," Harry greeted them.

Hermione was looking sad again and opened her mouth to apologize once more for the trouble she was causing.

"I'VE MISSED YOU, TOO, HARRY!" George suddenly exclaimed dramatically and he actually threw himself at Harry. Harry did his best to fight off the other boy, but was little successful against the energetic twin; he had no choice, but to led himself be hugged. George kept screaming how much he had missed Harry, how his life had been dark without the boy-who-lived-to-light-it and that he did not know how to deal with the impending loss off Harry's presence again.

Fred and Hermione were laughing so hard they had to lean on each other for support.

George's screams drew quite a lot of attention to them. Even the rest of the Weasleys looked over, but they did not join them. Eventually George stopped his tirade and let go of Harry. Harry was still laughing as he moved to hug Hermione and shake Fred's hand.

"You will excuse me, when I don't greet you as enthusiastically as my brother. But frankly I'm just not into hugging wizards that much," Fred said with a twinkle in his eyes.

"That's quite alright," Harry answered. "How are you guys doing?"

"Oh they are fine," George answered for his brother and Hermione. "Just lovey-dovey. Let me tell, you living with them is torture! Just last night when I came home I found them on the couch and-"

"George!" Hermione interrupted, her cheeks the vibrant colour of tomatoes.

"Just telling it how it is," George beamed at her.

Harry shook his head. "Good to know." Hermione hid her face on Fred's chest, who just grinned.

George bent down to take Hermione's trunk, which stood next to Fred.

"Come on Harry, let's put this trunk inside the train. This way we don't have to witness them kissing good-bye and doing all these other nauseatingly sweet things couples insist on doing." Together they dragged Hermione's trunk towards the Hogwarts Express.

"What did the girl pack? Bricks?"

"Probably books."

"Must be half a library." Carrying Hermione's trunk in between them, Harry and George disappeared into the mist surrounding the train and their voices faded.

Fred watched his brother leave with Harry. Hermione was still leaning against him, her face buried in his chest. He closed his arms around her and pressed her body into his.

"I promise it's not going to be as bad as you think," Fred repeated once more.

"I don't know." Her voice was muffled by his shirt.

"Some Gryffindor you are. Has nobody told you, that we're the bravest of all the houses?"

"Maybe I should have been sorted into Hufflepuff."

Fred gave a short laugh. "Certainly not."

Hermione lifted her head and looked up at him. He was taller than her by a few inches and she had to crane her neck to see his face properly.

"I'm going to miss you."

"Yeah, me too." He bent down and kissed her. So lost were they in their kiss, they didn't notice half the platform was staring at them nor that Ron's face turned puce when he saw them kiss. Only Bill's hand on his arm kept Ron from running over to hit Fred.

"See, that's what I am talking about." George and Harry had returned. Fred and Hermione broke apart.

"We should probably board the train. It's about to leave," Harry added.

Hermione nodded. She gave Fred another short kiss, hugged George briefly and, under calls of good-bye, left with Harry.

They got on the train, just as the whistle sounded and the doors closed behind them.

"I reserved a compartment for us," Harry told her and Hermione followed him. As they walked through the corridor Hermione noticed the other students whispering and pointing. She was relived when they reached their destination and went inside. Once the door was closed Hermione let herself fall onto one of the seats and let out the breath she didn't know she had held. She was glad they had the compartment to themselves and let her eyes fall shut in an effort to blend out all her surroundings.

"You okay?" Hermione opened her eyes again to see Harry sitting across from her and looking worried.

"Yeah. I just don't like all the attention. I don't know how you do it."

"I don't think I'll ever get used to it," Harry answered. After a short pause he added. "You didn't seem to mind Fred's attention though."

"I don't know what you mean," Hermione said evasively.

"Oh come on, I know you. You are not that good of an actress. That kiss was real and if half of the stuff George has told me is true, then you have stopped _acting_ like you like Fred a long time ago."

Hermione's cheeks were burning red once more and she refused to look at Harry's face.

"Am I right?" he prompted.

"I guess. I mean I don't know either. I'm confused. He's..." Hermione looked up at Harry. Taking another deep breath she lunged into an account of the days since Harry left the flat with Ron.

To say Harry was surprised would be an understatement. He had not expected for Hermione and Fred to fall for each other. They were complete opposites. But opposites attract after all, and as Harry watched Hermione talking with coloured cheeks and glassy eyes he realised quickly that the new couple made sense. In a twisted sense of way.

"Are you mad at me?" Hermione ended her monologue.

"Why would I be?" Harry was taken aback by her question.

"Because of Ron. I was only supposed to be pretending. And now…I don't know…but I guess I'm not anymore."

"Hermione you and Ron were not a couple anymore. You can date whoever you want. And, given that Fred and you have to marry, isn't it great you guys seem to get along so well?"

"I guess. I mean of course. I'm just sad that everybody else is so angry."

"Me too."

"How was it at the Weasleys'?" Hermione asked, trying to change the subject.

"Not exactly a barrel of laughter," Harry sighed. "They are mad at me because I refuse to be mad at you. Everybody had just figured that one day you and Ron would get together. No one ever put you and Fred together. Ron is hurt, of course, and the others are hurt for him. That's why everybody is so angry."

"He's not going to forgive me, is he?" Hermione asked.

"You need to give it some time," Harry said, though he did not sound very convincing.

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The ride passed quickly. Neville stopped by the compartment, as did Lavender and Parvati, but the dark look Harry had deliberately fixed on his face kept them from asking Hermione curious questions.

Once at Hogsmeade station, Hermione guiltily remembered that she was supposed to do Head Girl duties. She quickly jumped off the train, ignored all those whispering voices and helped herding off the people towards the carriages.

Her compulsion of upholding the rules salvaged, she joined Harry and Neville in one of the carriages. They arrived at Hogwarts and followed the throng of pupils going inside the Great Hall.

Hermione hesitated briefly before passing the doors to the hall.

"It won't be as bad as you think," Harry, who was right behind her, whispered into her ear and gave her an encouraging push. Hermione went forward resolving that as soon as she woke up the next day, she would go to the library and look up a summoning charm for courage.

So far, Hermione had avoided Ron and Ginny successfully, but there was no hiding when she sat down at the Gryffindor table for dinner.

Ginny shot her a murderous look from where she was sitting with her 6th year friends on the far end of the table. Thankfully though, the youngest Weasley refrained from making any comment as Hermione walked past her to sit opposite Lavender and Parvati. Harry and Neville slid into seats on either side of her.

Hermione risked a careful glance further down the table, where Ron was sitting with Seamus and Dean. He didn't meet her eyes and stared down the goblet in front of him.

Ron had obviously decided to ignore her. She breathed a sigh of relief.

On the train Hermione had thought up at least 20 different scenarios, of how dinner at the Great Hall could go wrong. She had given each of them a rating of 1 to 10 depending on the level of humiliation and pain, taking into account hurt feelings, embarrassment in front of the whole hall and various other complications.

Being ignored had gotten high marks in the hurt-feelings category, but given the fact that it at least didn't contain any public embarrassment, Ron's current behaviour ranked somewhere in the middle. Hermione sighed once more and started eating the food that had appeared in front of them. Maybe Fred and Harry were right and this wasn't going to be too bad.

"So Hermione, I hear you are sleeping with Fred Weasley now," Lavender commented with all the sensitivity of a blunt axe.

Hermione choked on the food in her mouth.

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Hermione was hoping for dinner to be over soon. She had flat out refused to answer any of Lavender's shockingly detailed questions about Hermione's and Fred's sex-life. However, keeping in mind the need to make their relationship public for the sake of gaining the Ministry's approval, Hermione did confirm hat she was in fact in a serious relationship with Fred. Lavender was positively elated by the news and she and Parvati immediately tried to persuade Hermione to dish them all there was to know.

Due to Hermione's unfortunate insistence to keep private things private Lavender and Parvati were limited to speculating about the on-goings in Fred Weasley's bedroom. They did so with a lot of imagination, attention to detail, and most importantly so loudly that half of Gryffindor table was privy to their speculations. Hermione was sure they were attempting to punish her for her refusal to provide the information her two shallow dormmates so desperately craved.

Unable to prevent Parvati and Lavender's ramblings, Hermione kept pushing the food on her plate around, only sporadically looking up to check for the reactions of her classmates. She quickly deduced that most people were surprised to hear about her new relationship. But since Hermione herself had never even so much as considered the possibility of dating Fred Weasley, she could hardly blame everyone else for being surprised now. Nevertheless, Hermione was taken aback by the sheer amount of interest in her newly existing love-life, for she noticed a lot of Gryffindors were secretly listening to Lavender and Parvati or quietly talking among themselves sneaking peeks at Hermione once in a while.

A sidewise glance to Harry revealed that he was once again trying to shut up Parvati and Lavender by staring at them darkly. Unfortunately, the troublesome duo seemed to have reached the conclusion that Harry couldn't harm them in the Great Hall in front of hundreds of witnesses, or else they had decided that gossip this scandalous was worth the risk. Whatever their reasons they could not be deterred from discussing Fred and Hermione openly.

Ginny was sitting too far away to hear Lavender and Parvati, but Ron was well within earshot and Hermione was increasingly worried about him. Though Ron pretended not to listen to Parvati and Lavender's ongoing chatter, Hermione noticed the death-grip he had on his fork and that he was only mashing up the food on his plate not eating more than a few bites.

The fact alone that Ron was refusing to eat was cause enough for Hermione to worry. Additionally, the lack of shouting and violent outbursts, which usually were guaranteed in a situation like this, had Hermione suspecting just how deeply she had hurt her friend's feelings. Hermione instantly felt guilty for causing Ron pain, but at the same time she was angry at the Ministry for putting her into this impossible position in the first place.

At long last dinner was over and Hermione fled the Great Hall.

She reached the 7th year dormitories first. Grabbing her nightwear and toiletries she retreated into the bathroom before Lavender and Parvati had the chance to catch up and continue bothering her. After washing-up and brushing her teeth Hermione changed into Fred's T-shirt and boxers. Wishing she were back in Diagon Alley, Hermione exited the bathroom.

The second the two other girls saw Hermione wearing a pair of man's boxers and a T-shirt whose owner was evident due to the unmistakable imprint of 'Carrot-tops are green, Einstein!' they fired a new battery of indecent questions at Hermione. Hermione had expected as much, but her wish to have the small comfort Fred's clothes provided far outweighed her desire not to encourage Parvati and Lavender even more.

Therefore, Hermione shrugged off all inquires about her sex-life and got into bed. Before she closed the hangings around her four-poster bed Hermione calmly informed her dormmates that she was sorry their own love lives did not suffice to keep their interests, but she would refuse to make up for their lack of personal experience by divulging her own.

It shut Lavender and Parvati up. For the night.

tbc

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a/n: I'm really sorry for the long wait, but my laptop is still not working and HP is taking its sweet time repairing the stupid thing. So I've been getting up early every morning, never mind the fact that it's the summer holidays, and used my father's ancient computer while he's at my grandmothers. I'll be so glad once I get my own computer back (at least if HP is able to convince it that it does in fact possess a hard drive).

Anyway thanks so much for all the reviews I received so far. That's what gets me out of bed this early each morning.

Also thanks to my BETAs Lockofcurls and MBPrincess for their continuous support.


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: JKR owns everything and I don't make any money with this story. The idea of the Marriage Law originated at wiktt, I believe. I'm just borrowing...

a/n: This story is AU since DH.

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_**Magnetic Moment**_

**Chapter 10**

Lessons started the day after the arrival of the pupils who had been at home during Christmas. Every-day life returned to normal at Hogwarts though it held some changes for Hermione. For one thing, Ron kept ignoring her and Ginny shot hostile glances at Hermione at every opportunity. Hermione was hurt, but saw little chance of reconciliation. Telling them about the impending Marriage Law was not an option, for she feared detection.

Hermione had given the Law a lot of thought over the past days. It was obvious that even though she had come to care about Fred, she would never rationally consider marrying him, or anyone else for that matter, within the next few weeks. Her immediate instinct was to fight the law at all costs. However, her options were limited. Hermione felt that she had invested too much of her life in the magical world to quit it altogether. Even if the situation with her parents were less complicated she could not imagine returning to them and living like a Muggle.

Briefly, Hermione had considered leaving Britain. The Quidditch World Cup had shown that magical communities were scattered throughout the world. In fact, back in November when Professor McGonagall had first told her about the Marriage Law, Hermione had gone to the library to do research on the possibility of emigration. Soon two problems had surfaced: one was that, compared to other countries, the British Ministry of Magic actually adopted a very liberal view on the matter of Muggleborns. Hermione was appalled to learn that there were still countries that did not allow the possession of a wand, if the witch or wizard was unable to prove at least three generations of magical ancestory.

A second problem with the issue of emigration arose from Hermione's personal situation. While she had no doubt that Lord Voldemort's influence stretched far over the borders of the British islands, Hermione was aware that the Ministry of Magic lost its jurisdiction outside their own country. Therefore, they would be unable and unwilling to provide protection for her and her family outside of England. The Order of the Phoenix was in need of more members as it was and could not spare their limited resources to protect her abroad. Hermione did not believe for one second that Voldemort would cease to hunt her just because she had left the country. Emigration was not an option.

Therefore, Hermione arrived at the conclusion that marrying Fred was indeed her best bet. And, as she continuously reminded herself, considering the way they had gotten along during her brief stay at the apartment above WWW, there could be worse things than being Mrs. Fred Weasley. This thought kept her afloat during those first few days at Hogwarts which turned out to be at least as difficult as expected, if not more.

Lavender and Parvati hadn't given up their hunt for sordid details concerning Hermione and Fred's love life. They had tried everything from whispered questions before they turned in for the night, to cornering Hermione during the meals at the Great Hall and even sending little notes during lessons, which was perhaps the most bothersome approach in Hermione's eyes as it tampered with her concentration.

While Hermione did her best to ignore the silly advances of her dorm mates, Ron in turn completely ignored Hermione. It pained her to see how much she had hurt one of her best friends. Hermione's only relief was that Harry obviously did his best to cheer up Ron. She usually saw the two of them together, going for a fly on the brooms in the brisk winter air, talking Quidditch or doing other things guys did.

As relieved as Hermione was that Harry kept Ron company, it left _her_quite lonely. Ginny still disapproved of Hermione and Fred's relationship and was very vocal about her opinions. Hermione had taken to avoiding Ginny and her sharp tongue at all costs, which was why she spent most of her time in the library where she was safe from both Lavander and Parvati's inane questions and Ginny's scathing remarks.

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The library was the place where Harry found Hermione late on Saturday morning two weeks after their arrival at Hogwarts. He had both his and Hermione's winter cloaks draped over one arm and looked at Hermione disapprovingly.

"Hermione, don't tell me you plan on staying cooped up in the library all day. It's a Hogsmeade weekend!"

Hermione looked up from the enormous tome she was reading. "Harry, don't be daft. Do you expect me to go with Lavender and Parvati?"

"Of course not. You're coming with me," Harry replied, taking the book from Hermione and closing it with a loud thud, causing Madam Pince to look at them disapprovingly.

"No, Harry," Hermione whispered, looking at Madam Pince apologetically, "You should go with Ron."

"I'll catch up with him later. Don't worry."

Harry grabbed Hermione's hands and pulled her out of her sanctuary not heading her mumbled protests, which turned considerably loader once they were through the library doors.

"Hermione, you've been shutting yourself off for two weeks now. It's not good. Now you're going with me to Hogsmeade, whether you come voluntarily or I have to hex you is up to you." Harry thrust a cloak at the outraged girl and started pushing her towards the castles entrance doors.

Realising that there was no arguing with him, Hermione grudgingly allowed Harry to pull her out of the castle and down the path to Hogsmeade. They had to fight their way through several inches of snow, which had fallen during the night, and by the time Harry and Hermione reached Hogsmeade they were both read-nosed and shivering.

"Aren't you glad you came?" Harry asked Hermione with a grin, when he noticed her disgruntled expression. By the looks of it, Hermione was already planning her escape, probably wanting to return to the warmth of the Hogwarts library as quickly as possible.

"I don't know why I let you talk me into it," Hermione spat back. She was trudging beside Harry with little appreciation for the snow-covered and picturesque Main Street of Hogsmeade or the enticing shop windows.

"Aw, little Hermione is a spoilsport," came a teasing and very familiar voice from behind Harry and Hermione. Hermione spun on her heel just to come face to face with Fred Weasley.

"Fred!" Hermione exclaimed surprised and hugged the redhead. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, I just happen to be scouting for new premises for the joke shop. George and I might consider branching out to Hogsmeade," Fred answered. "Looks like you have a Hogsmeade visit today. What a coincidence," he added with fake surprise, winking at Harry over Hermione's head.

Hermione turned her head towards Harry without letting go of Fred.

"You knew," she accused.

"Me?" Harry asked in an attempted to sound innocent and failing dreadfully. "Never."

"You did," Hermione said. "Why didn't you tell me you were coming?" She asked Fred.

"Because," he replied adopting his best teaching voice, which had an uncanny resemblance to Professor Snape, "it would hardly have been a surprise then. I'm not sure whether you are aware of this, little Hermione, but in order to be surprised the victim has to _not_ know about the surprise beforehand."

"Oh you…" Hermione scoffed and finally let go of Fred in order to be able to punch him in the arm. Lightly, of course. Fred just laughed.

"Well, I'll leave you two to it then," Harry said with an amused twinkle in his eyes. "Have fun." Seeing that his two friends were paying little to no attention to him, Harry shook his head, grinning and made for the Three Broomsticks to catch up with Ron and the others.

Fred took Hermione's hand and pulled her along with him. They left the busy Main Street of Hogsmeade and turned to a quieter and smaller road. Hermione looked around. She had never been in that part of the village.

"Where are we going?"

"Do I have to explain the meaning of surprise to you again?" Fred asked with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes.

Realising that she wouldn't get a straight answer out of him, Hermione let Fred pull her along. Looking around she realised that they had left the part of the village with all the shops and stores that excited the Hogwarts pupils so much. The small street they were in was mostly dominated by small townhouses, which were obviously designed for living.

Fred stopped at one of the houses and walked down a flight of stairs to the outside entrance of the house's basement.

Before Hermione had the opportunity to ask again where they where going Fred had opened the door and stepped inside. Following him Hermione found herself in a small restaurant. Her nose was immediately bombarded with mouth-watering smells and, once Hermione's eyes had adjusted to the somewhat dimmed light of the restaurant, she could see the dozen tables that were arranged in the small room. Altogether the restaurant had a rather cosy atmosphere.

"I thought we'd go to lunch," Fred explained. "After all you agreed to go on a date with me."

Hermione smiled at the grinning Weasley in front of her and let him lead her to one of the few unoccupied tables. Surprisingly, considering its unobtrusive location, the restaurant was quite full.

Once Hermione and Fred had sat down, a wizard named Byron descended upon them. As Fred explained when he made the introductions Byron was the owner of the restaurant which was simply called Cratch. The excited owner jumped up and down in front of their table, surprisingly agile for a man who obviously liked to sample his own food too much and, after enquiring which twin exactly was gracing him with his presence, he exclaimed:

"Fred, m'boy, you haven't been here in ages. I'm hurt."

Fred unsuccessfully tried to explain that he had to run a business in London and couldn't just pop in for lunch whenever he wanted because he was working fulltime.

"Nonsense." Byron shouted. "You used to go to school fulltime, too, and that didn't stop you or your brother from coming by regularly."

"Really?" Hermione asked, raising an eyebrow at Fred. He was saved from answering by Byron, who at this point had directed his attention towards Hermione.

"M'dear, I'm simply delighted to welcome a new guest to my little Cratch. And such a beautiful guest at that."

Hermione blushed and Byron continued: "I hope you brought a healthy appetite. I think I know just the thing a lovely lady such as yourself would like to eat. You like ham do you?"

Hermione nodded, but wasn't able to get a word in.

"I love ham. Only when it's prepared right of course. I prefer seasoning it with…"

A loud crash from another room interrupted Byron's monologue on the best way to prepare ham.

"I must run. There are no limits to the damage my houseelves can do to the kitchen when I'm not there to watch them. Kylie will bring you your drinks," Byron said, gesticulating to a worn out looking waiter who was currently busy taking the bill to another couple. Shouting after the departing couple that they better be back within the next week or else, Byron scurried through a small door in the back, which presumably led to the kitchens.

"We don't get to order our food?" Hermione asked Fred once Byron had left.

"No, we don't. Byron prides himself at being able to pick the best food for his guests. But don't worry, everything he serves is delicious. We do get to chose what we want to drink, though," Fred explained and waved for the waiter.

Hermione and Fred left their orders for the drinks with Kylie and talked while they waited for Byron to cook whatever he thought they would like to eat.

After about half an hour, Byron himself served their food. Hermione looked at her plate not entirely sure what was in front of her, but at the very least it smelled delicious. For what it was exactly, Hermione drew a blank, though it looked somewhat like a mix between shepherd's pie and porridge and obviously contained ham.

"Go on, m'dear, just try it." Byron, who had remained standing by their table, encouraged. Hermione shot Fred a look, who just grinned at her.

"He won't go until he knows you like your food." Fred explained smiling and Byron vigorously nodded his head in agreement.

"Okay then…" Hermione picked up her fork and carefully tried whatever it was that lay on her plate. To her utter amazement it tasted even better than it smelled. Her approval must have been evident on her face, since Byron shouted, "I knew you'd like it!" loud enough for everyone in the restaurant to hear, though the other guest didn't pay them any mind, obviously used to Byron's outbursts. After assuring himself that Fred approved of the food as well Byron hurried back into the kitchen leaving his guests to eat in peace.

"He's quite a character." Hermione noted between two bites.

"That he is. But he's also the best cook in Hogsmeade," Fred agreed.

They enjoyed their food and each other's company. Byron came back once they finished and all but forced them to order dessert. The pudding he served was delicious as well. Once they were finished Hermione felt as stuffed as after a Hogwarts feast and when Fred suggested they go for a walk, she readily agreed.

After paying and saying good-bye to Byron, who tearfully made Fred promise to not wait too long until he returned with his beautiful lady friend, they walked around Hogsmeade for a while talking about everything and nothing. Fred seemed to know Hogsmeade just as well as Hogwarts and when Hermione asked he told her how George and he used to explore the village during their third and fourth year at Hogwarts. They had found the cratch by accident. Its existence was a carefully guarded secret of the Hogsmeade citizens and only insiders knew of its location.

"We should probably warm up in the Three Broomsticks." Fred remarked, when both he and Hermione where shivering from the cold. Hermione looked less then thrilled.

"Keep up appearances, you know," Fred added.

"We probably should," Hermione agreed though she sounded little enthusiastic.

"Is it really as bad as you wrote?" Fred asked referring to the reactions of the pupils and especially that of his siblings that Hermione had described in her letters.

"You'll see," Hermione replied darkly and stepped into the pub.

The moment Fred and Hermione entered The Three Broomsticks they realized that the better part of the upper years where gathered in the pub. Also, the majority of those assembled seemed to have a keen interest in the newly arrived couple. What's more, Ron and Harry where sitting with Neville, Dean and Seamus at a table right at the entrance.

Determined to avoid yet another scene Fred quickly grabbed Hermione's hand and hastily pulled her past the boys. Ron thankfully maintained the same tactics he had employed since their return to Hogwarts and feigned ignorance. Harry sent a small nod towards them, but stayed beside Ron.

Fred and Hermione bought two Butterbeers from Madam Rosmerta and then turned to look for a table in the packed pub. On their way to find a place to sit Hermione was careful to avoid Lavender and Parvati, who were occupying a large table with a bunch of girls from their year. She didn't know what she was more afraid of: Parvati and Lavender asking one of their scandalous questions in front of Fred or Fred actually answering them. Hermione decided to save herself the embarrassment and resolutely walked towards an empty table on the far side from Lavender and Parvati's group.

Unfortunately, this table was relatively close to where Ginny was sitting with her friends. Ginny saw the couple immediately, and although Fred and Hermione were unable to understand what she was saying to the girl sitting next to her, Ginny's hateful look towards them gave them an unmistakable message.

Once they reached a small, empty table Fred sat heavily down in his chair.

"I know why Ron is acting the way he is. Can't exactly blame him, he's been in love with you for ages. But I really didn't expect Ginny to behave like such a bitch," he complained.

"She's just upset," Hermione explained, sitting down as well.

"About what? After all, I'm her brother, too. Why does she have to side with Ron?"

"This isn't about you and me," Hermione assured soothingly, since Fred actually looked hurt.

"It's not?" Fred looked perplexed. "Then what the hell is she so upset about?"

"Harry." Hermione replied simply.

"She is upset about Harry, because you and I are dating?" Fred asked confused.

"In a manner of speaking," Seeing Fred's baffled face she added: "I didn't want to be with Ron because I didn't want a relationship during such dangerous times. It was basically the same reason Harry gave Ginny when he broke it off with her. Now I found someone else and, I think, Ginny is subconsciously afraid that Harry will do the same. That's why she is feeling so angry on Ron's behalf."

"Why can't she just be angry at Harry then?" Fred asked, looking among Harry, Ginny and Hermione, mystified.

"It doesn't work that way."

"Witches!" Fred mumbled into his Butterbeer, but the look he sent his sister was less resentful.

Hermione and Fred sipped their drinks trying to ignore the attention they were receiving from the young witches and wizards around them. They resumed their easy talk from earlier and with time the interest of mostly everyone drifted back to their own conversations. Ginny kept glancing disdainfully at them once in a while and Hermione noticed that Ron seemed to have somehow deflated and obviously lost all the interest in the talk around him. But other than that, Fred and Hermione were able to enjoy the rest of their time together.

All too soon the day came to an end and the pupils of Hogwarts left the Three Broomsticks in droves.

"I should probably go, too," Hermione finally said when most of the students had already left.

"Yeah, probably," Fred agreed reluctantly and both of them got up from the table, donned their winter wear and walked out of the pub. Outside the temperature had dropped considerably since the sun had already begun to set. Fred looked up to the semi-dark sky.

"You probably shouldn't go back alone." Fred said worriedly.

Hermione was all set to give him the 'I'm a big girl and can take care of myself' speech, but her common sense prevailed. It really wouldn't be smart to traipse around in the dark alone during times like these.

"I'll find Lavender or Parvati and go up with them." she said instead, but her scrunched up nose showed clearly how much she was looking forward to a walk with the girls.

However, she was saved from that particular pleasure, as Harry was standing not far from the Three Broomsticks, clearly waiting to accompany her back. Hermione sent him a thankful smile and turned to Fred to say goodbye.

Fred immediately pulled Hermione towards him and kissed her thoroughly. Neither one of them noticed the remaining pupils staring at them and saying that this kiss was just for show would be an outright lie. It was for their benefit alone. When they came up for air they stayed close together just looking at each other. However, Fred and Hermione weren't willing to admit yet that they had stopped merely pretending to be a couple sometime ago and anyway it wasn't the place to have this conversation.

So Fred kissed Hermione briefly on the lips once more and gave her a wry smile.

"You better go, Harry's waiting. Wouldn't want him to freeze off vital body parts. The-boy-who-lived-to-lose-his…hand-to-frostbite just doesn't have the same ring."

Hermione gave a short laugh, hugged Fred one last time and shaking her head walked over to Harry. Fred watched the two of them leave before Apparating back to London.

Hermione trudged alongside Harry back to the castle. In her mind, she replayed the afternoon she had spent with Fred, a goofy smile on her face.

"Oh boy," Harry suddenly said. Hermione turned to her best friend and saw him grinning at her.

"What?" She asked accusingly and stopped walking.

"You've got it bad." Harry grinned even more and continued his way to Hogwarts.

Hermione looked at him perplexed for a few seconds than hurried to catch up.

"You have no idea what you're talking about."

Harry just kept grinning.

tbc

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a/n: Once again I can only apologize for the long delay. I know some of you were already afraid I wouldn't update MM anymore, but rest assured I plan on finishing my story, no matter how long it takes. ;)

I would like to thank everyone who reviewed those past few months. I've had quite a rough time at university and with my family, which resulted in a bad case of writer's block. Your continuous support convinced me to try again. I really hope you'll like the chapter.

Also thanks to my awesome betas Lockofcurls and MBPrincess, who still haven't given up on correcting my disastrous punctuation and various other mistakes.


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: JKR owns everything and I don't make any money with this story. The idea of the Marriage Law originated at wiktt, I believe. I'm just borrowing...

a/n: This story is AU since DH.

_**Magnetic Moment**_

**Chapter 11**

The days after the Hogsmeade weekend passed quickly for Hermione. She concentrated on her classes and whenever the ongoing hostilities from Ron and especially Ginny became too much she thought back to the day she had spent with Fred. Thoughts about him never failed to make her smile and it made the situation in the Gryffindor common-room and during the meals so much more bearable.

On Thursday the time for the Ministry had finally come to announce their new Marriage Law Act.

To those very few already expecting the law, signs had been clear that the Ministry was rallying to drop this bomb on its community. Hermione had been appalled to notice the increasing propaganda against Squibs. Articles were published not only in the Daily Prophet, but in every major wizarding newspaper and magazine (the Quibbler being the one notable exception), warning against the supposedly rising ratio of Squibs to wizards and the danger emanating from such an outrageous development.

Hermione could only snort disgustedly at each new article she read on the front page of the Prophet and hoped that at least the majority of the witches and wizards would see the Ministry's Anti-Squib campaign for what it really was: a pathetic decoy from their inability to defeat Voldemort once and for all. Alas, it seemed so far that a lot of her fellow students were actually inclined to buy into the lies of the Ministry. Hermione had written an agitated letter to Fred only three days ago telling him about a cowardly attack on Filch.

Despite the fact that the current caretaker of Hogwarts wasn't one of her favourite people by a long shot, Hermione had been dismayed to learn that a small group of students had broken into Filch's office, demolished it completely and smeared highly literary massages like "Squibs suck" on the walls. The Professors had yet to find the ones responsible for the deed and punish them accordingly.

Fred's answer to Hermione's letter had arrived the day before. It was the current political climate that gave significance to the fact that even Fred condemned the act of vandalism against Filch. According to him, the mood in London was similar to the one at Hogwarts and people really seemed to believe 'the humongous load of Hippogriff crap our beloved Ministry has chosen to unload on its devoted sheep'. Apparently the magical community didn't mind being purposefully misled as long as it meant they didn't have to worry about Voldemort for a little bit. Fred was as disgusted as Hermione.

Hermione had gone to breakfast early, as had become her habit in order to avoid the crowds. Therefore, she was already done with her food and only waiting for the arrival of the post owls, in hope of another letter from Fred, when it happened.

Looking restlessly in the direction where the owls generally entered Hermione was among the first to notice the unusually large amount of owls flying into the Great Hall. Every student attending the seventh year and even some sixth years received an owl carrying a purple pamphlet with the Ministry's crest. Hermione took hers from a ghastly looking eagle owl.

The Ministry had kept the upcoming Marriage Law Act a secret in order to avoid protest and criticism even before the Act was passed. In a massive effort, it now had to inform the Wizarding Community all at once. To achieve this feat the Ministry was sending out an owl to every witch and wizard subject to the new law as well as publishing the Act in every major wizarding newspaper.

Hermione opened the pamphlet and read:

_**Marriage Law Act**_

_The Ministry of Magic is proud to announce this new piece of legislation, which will eradicate the much feared rise of the squib ration among the wizarding community. Effective immediately, the following laws will govern the matrimonial relationships between witches and wizards._

_**1.**__— (1) A marriage hereafter contracted between a witch and a wizard shall only be valid if one of the party is of Muggle decent and the other of Pureblood._

_(2) In the foregoing and following subsections the word 'Pureblood' applies equally to decendents of pure and of half blood. _

_**2.**__— (1) The Ministry of Magic shall have the power to bond any Muggleborn between the age of 17 and 35 with a Pureblood willing to enter the maritial status. _

_(2) Any Pureblood wishing to petition for the hand of a Muggleborn shall apply to the Registrar of the Ministry of Magic._

_(3) Marriage between Purebloods may only be permitted under exceptional circumstances, and if the Registrar of the Ministry of Magic grants special permission. _

_(4) A Muggleborn may evade the Ministry's procurement if the Muggleborn is already involved in a relationship with a Pureblood and intending to marry. _

_(5) Couples as described in the subsections 3 and 4 have to give notice of their established relationship to the Registrar of the Ministry of Magic._

_**3.**__ — (1) A registrar to whom a established relationship notice is given may require the witch or wizard giving the notice to provide him with specified evidence relating to the witch and wizard intending to be married. _

_(2) Such a requirement may be imposed at any time on or after the giving of the marriage notice but before the registrar issues the Ministry approval. _

_(3) In paragraph (1) "specified evidence", in relation to a witch or wizard, means such evidence of that couple's— _

_(a)__names and surnames; (b) ages; (c) Blood Status; and (d) details regarding their ongoing relationship as well as the ability to support a family,_

_as may be specified in guidance issued by the Registrar General._

_**4.**__ — (1) After the Muggleborn receives a marriage notice from the Ministry, the marriage shall be executed within the following 60 days. _

_(2) In the case of an established relationship, the marriage shall be executed within 30 days after the Ministry's approval described under section 3._

_**5.**__ — (1) Any witch or wizard unwillinge to abide the foregoing law will be charged with an aggravated offence and will be sentenced to return their wand to the Ministry and to dissociate from the Wizarding Community. _

Hermione read the pamphlet twice. Although she had already known about the impending act she was still shocked to see it in writing. Up to this moment there had always been a tiny piece of naïve hope within her that the Act would not get passed.

"I don't get it," Lavender said, who was sitting across Hermione and reading the pamphlet as well. "What does it mean?"

"It means," Hermione explained, "that the Ministry can force any Muggleborn into a Marriage with a Pureblood who has applied for the Muggleborn, unless the Muggleborn is already in a relationship with another Pureblood who is willing to get married."

Lavender looked at her dumbfounded. "Can they do that?"

"Apparently," Hermione spat once more disgusted with the body that was meant to govern the witches and wizards in Britain to the best of its abilities.

The noise in the Great Hall increased a thousand fold as more and more students became aware of the Ministry's new legislation and its consequences. Hermione witnessed a myriad of different reactions, from disbelieving laughter, to spontaneous proposals of marriage, to hysteric cries. Hermione herself kept her head down, pretending to study the pamphlet in front of her and trying not to give away her previous knowledge of the Law.

Harry joined Hermione a little while later and one quick glance at his face confirmed that he, too, was trying his best to appear surprised and justifiably angered, the latter expression requiring considerably less acting skills than the first.

None of the upper years even bothered to go to class that morning as they all remained in the Hall, discussing this unexpected turn of events. In a brief flare of sarcasm, Hermione mentally applauded the Ministry for achieving their goal of diverting attention from Voldemort. For the first time in a very long period He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and his Death Eaters were not regarded as newsworthy.

Finally, Headmistress McGonagall announced that all classes would be suspended for the day, so everyone could become adapted to the new situation. Her facial expression, which suggested strongly that she had just bitten into a lemon, clearly showed what she thought of this 'new situation.' Most of the teachers seemed to share her feelings concerning the law, as they could be seen at the high table, talking to one another sombrely, shaking their heads from time to time.

Hermione remained at the Gryffindor table, listening to the conversations around her. A few of her classmates, Lavender and Parvati in the lead, had asked her what she planned to do. Hermione gave them a noncommittal answer, claiming she had to write to Fred first, before she could say anything. Once or twice Hermione noticed Ginny looking shrewdly at her from her position at the other end of the Gryffindor table. But as to how exactly interpret Ginny's looks, Hermione drew a blank.

Altogether she was taken a little aback at the reactions of her fellow students. As expected, most of them didn't approve of the Marriage Law, with the few exceptions of those people stupid enough to seriously buy into the Ministry's Anti-Squib campaign. However, instead of discussing how to possibly get rid of the Marriage Law, which would have been Hermione's first choice of action, most students had already moved a step further and were deliberating future husbands or wives.

For once Hermione felt like she didn't belong in Hogwarts, for the difference between a Muggle upbringing and the magic world could not have been any more obvious than on this Thursday. Whereas every fibre of her being screamed that this Marriage Law was immoral and a clear violation of basic human rights, most students with a magical parentage seemed to be of the opinion that the Ministry of Magic had every right to meddle into the personal affairs of each and every wizard. Hermione felt desolated.

As the Headmistress announced that those students who needed to talk to their parents or prospective spouses could return home on Friday afternoon via the Floo network, Hermione excused herself and went to the Owlery to send a letter to Fred.

* * *

Friday afternoon had Hermione impatiently standing in a long line in front of Professor McGonagall's office, clutching a small over-night bag and waiting to Floo to the apartment above WWW. The better part of the older students was using this opportunity to Floo home to consult their parents or discuss the Marriage Law with their respective girlfriend/boyfriend.

The mood of those waiting in line was subdued bordering on anxious. Hermione on the other hand found she was inappropriately giddy. She couldn't help herself, she was happy to see Fred again. So she kept her head down hiding between her bushy hair, lest anyone see her actually smiling.

Progress was slow and Hermione had to wait quite some time until she finally reached Professor McGonagall's office. Inside she found not only the headmistress but also Professors Sprout and Flitwick. Though nobody said it out loud Hermione knew that the teachers were there to make sure that the opened Floo channel didn't pose a threat to Hogwarts' security.

"Come in, Miss Granger," Professor McGonagall greeted Hermione when it was her turn. Hermione stepped through the door and just saw Hannah Abbot disappearing into the emerald flames of the fireplace.

"Please remember your timeslot to return on Sunday evening. We will have a lot of students returning through this fireplace and we're trying to avoid it getting too crowded." The Headmistress primly explained in a voice that clearly portrayed that she had given these instructions countless times already that day.

"Just take some powder and off you go. Good luck."

Hermione took a pinch of Floo Powder from a large bowl on Professor McGonagall's desk, said good-bye to the Professors and Flooed out of Hogwarts. After a bumpy but remarkably short ride through the Floo network Hermione stepped slightly stumbling out of the fireplace of Fred and George's apartment. Fred was waiting for her on the couch and upon seeing Hermione immediately leaped up to greet her.

"Finally. What took you so long?" he asked, his question muffled, because he was hugging her at the same time.

Hermione allowed herself a few moments to enjoy Fred's embrace before she answered, knowing that this could only lead to more serious discussions and less hugging.

"There was a terribly long line in front of Professor McGonagall's office. It seems that almost everyone our age Flooed home today. Everybody was very nervous."

Fred indeed let go of Hermione and sat back on the couch. Hermione remained standing.

"That was to be expected, wasn't it?" Fred asked. "After all, we are pretty much the only ones who had a warning that this was coming. I bet there are a lot of people right now trying to figure out whether they want to marry their partner or try their luck with the Ministries match-making. Wouldn't want to be a Muggleborn right now."

"Yeah…" Hermione looked at her shoes, suddenly ill at ease in Fred's living-room.

"Uh, sorry Hermione." Fred said after an awkward pause. "Didn't mean you, of course…I mean…of course, it'd be better if you weren't…ah, hell, forget I said anything."

Fred shot her a lopsided smile, leaning back on the couch and stuffing his hands into his pockets.

Hermione took a deep breath to steady herself and mumbled, "Fred, I know your only doing the Order a favour, you don't really have to…"

"Don't be stupid, Hermione." Fred interrupted. "Look…will you sit down? It's kind of difficult to have this discussion while you're still standing there ready to bolt."

Hermione did as he asked and took a seat next to Fred on the couch. However, she was still studying her shoes intently.

"Look, we both know that we will have to get married. You would be in a lot of danger if we didn't. But I want you to know…I'm not only doing this because I have to. I mean, obviously without the Law I would be asking you out on another date, not proposing marriage…but… it's not so bad, isn't it?"

Hermione sat in stunned silence, mulling things over. Fred's words were almost mirroring her own thoughts. She was forced to marry Fred in order to be safe, yet, as alien as that concept seemed, it wasn't so bad either.

Hermione looked up for the first time and saw Fred looking at her searchingly. Not sure what she should say, for really there were no words to express her conflicted feelings, Hermione slowly leaned towards him instead and brushed a light kiss on his lips.

"No, it's not," she murmured softly against his lips and then leaned in for a second kiss. Fred reached for Hermione and pulled her into his lap, never breaking their kiss. For the moment they just enjoyed each other.

Finally Hermione ended the kiss, let out a sigh and nestled her head into the crook of Fred's neck. Fred tightened his hold of her.

"What are we going to do now?" Hermione asked.

"I suppose we'll have to go to the Ministry tomorrow. See the registrar about this established relationship business."

"Right," Hermione spat. "I've never seen a more ridiculous law."

"You clearly haven't had to manage a wizarding company. You wouldn't believe how many ridiculous laws the Ministry has come up with already. Did you know, for example, that you are not allowed to greet potential customers standing on your hands, holding your wand with your toes? Apparently the Ministry is worried about accidental magic blemishing the consumer/salesman relationship. Bunch of spoilsports!"

Hermione smiled against his neck. "Nope, didn't know that."

"And you're supposed to be smart."

At that point they heard the apartment door open and a few moments later George was coming into the living-room, one hand clasp over his eyes, the other one feeling ahead for any obstacles.

"Don't look," Fred advised, "we're having naked, sweaty sex on the rug in front of the fireplace."

"Really?" George asked, immediately dropping his hands and looking at the rug expectantly.

No, of course not." Hermione admonished.

"Well, you can always hope for the future." Fred told George consolingly, as his twin plopped down into an armchair opposite the couch Hermione and Fred were occupying.

"Have you decided what to do about the Law?" George asked casually, eyeing the couple in front of him carefully.

Hermione and Fred quickly looked at each other, an action that didn't go unnoticed by George. Then Fred announced: "We're getting married."

George smiled. He had been expecting as much. "Congratulations."

* * *

The three of them had a small celebration dinner in the kitchen of the twin's apartment. They discussed the law and it's consequences till late into the evening, until they were all tired and Fred and Hermione bade George, who went into his own room, goodnight.

Hermione went to fetch her small overnight bag, which she had dropped in the living room earlier, while Fred changed in the bathroom. Then they switched places and Fred waited for Hermione while she put on her night things. While he waited Fred was thinking about the day he had had, a cluster of conflicted thoughts running through his mind.

He was still sitting on the edge of his bed, deep in contemplation when Hermione exited the bathroom. She was once more wearing Fred's 'Carrot Tops Are Green, Einstein!' t-shirt and his boxer shorts.

"You know, I've been looking for those," Fred remarked upon seeing her, his teasing grin masking the much more complicated feelings that stirred inside him whenever he saw her wearing his clothes.

"You know they look much better on me than on you anyways," Hermione teased right back and came to sit next to him on the foot of the bed. The room was silent for a few moments while both of them tried to come to grips with their situation. So much had changed in such a short time.

Fred was the one who finally broke their silence. "We should probably go to sleep. It's better to get to the Ministry early. It's bound to be pact."

Hermione nodded her consent, but when she turned to look at Fred to say good-night she found him starring hat her, the oddest look on his face. She opened her mouth to speak, although later Hermione could not have said what it was that she had wanted to say. Before she had the chance to even get a word out Fred leaned in and kissed her.

The kiss was slow and deliberate and neither of them made a move to increase their physical contact. They just sat next to each other on the bad, bodies turned towards one another, lips locked in a sweet kiss. The need to breathe finally forced them apart, but still they remained sitting next to each other, not touching, nevertheless emotionally closer than they had ever been.

Eventually, Fred broke the silence. "Hermione, why do you keep wearing my clothes?" he asked, tugging slightly at the hem of the shirt in question.

Fred noticed the faint blush colouring Hermione's cheeks, though whether it was due to their kissing or his question Fred could not tell.

"They are comfortable," Hermione finally answered and in a much softer voice she admitted, "I didn't feel so alone when I wore them at Hogwarts."

Something stirred inside of Fred. He didn't know why, but he was incredibly moved by Hermione's words. Hermione was looking shyly away, surprised by the truthfulness and underlying meaning of her admission. Fred tugged a stray curl behind her ear, watching her profile and patiently waited until she was ready to look at him once more. When Hermione did turn towards him, Fred cradled her face in both his hands and kissed her, conveying all their conflicted, verbally inexpressible emotions.

There were no barriers left between them that night, which became the first they truly spent _together_. Much later, they lay in each other's arms, fully contented, and this time Professor Snape didn't get the chance to jump a single cauldron before Fred fell into a peaceful and satisfied slumber.

tbc

a/n: Finally, the Marriage Law gets past. It feels like it took me forever to get to that point. I never thought the story would turn out to be so long.

Once again thanks to all my lovely reviewers. I'm still in shock that I have received more than 300 reviews for MM. Keep them coming, you've got no idea how much they motivate me. Especially considering all the problems I've had with this chapter. The reason that I've got people reading my story and actually like it is what keeps me going, no matter how tough it gets.

Everybody who is interested to know how far I am in regards to current chapters and when the next updates are planned should check out my new livejournal. I'm using it as my writer's journal. Link is in the profil. MM is posted there as well.

Many thanks to Katia for doing the beta and especially for helping me with that last scene. Your help is very much appreciated.


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: JKR owns everything and I don't make any money with this story. The idea of the Marriage Law originated at wiktt, I believe. I'm just borrowing...

a/n: This story is AU since DH.

_**Magnetic Moment**_

**Chapter 12**

Despite the late night, Hermione awoke early the next morning. She found herself in her customary position on Fred's chest, with the fundamental difference of not feeling the shirt he had worn to bed underneath her cheek, but bare flesh.

At the same time as awareness and memories came rushing back to Hermione, her thoughts and doubts returned. As silently as possible Hermione extracted herself from Fred's embrace and, carefully checking he was still vast asleep, quietly made her way into the bathroom.

Not daring to cast a look in the mirror Hermione stepped into the shower and turned the hot water on. Standing underneath the spray she let her thoughts go back to the previous night. She meant to think about it rationally, but details kept creeping up distracting her from any demure line of thought. Bottom line, she had enjoyed the previous night's activities a lot.

But Hermione's analytical and down-to-earth personality didn't allow her to bask in the afterglow for long. Just as short and pragmatic as her shower was, her thinking soon returned to the problem on hand: Hermione's feelings towards Fred. The girl was simply overwhelmed by their sheer existence, never having expected to fall for someone so unlike her own character.

But as she was towelling off and put on a fresh set of clothes Hermione mused that having feelings for Fred really wasn't much of a problem. After all, they _were_ getting married.

Seating herself on the closed toiled seat Hermione allowed herself the time to properly analyse their situation from top to bottom. However, she was unable to achieve any other results then that, as unorthodox as their relationship was, the fact that they were starting to care for each other. For Hermione was sure that Fred was feeling similar to her, and the fact that they expressed those feelings could not be a bad thing

Smoothing down her clothing Hermione finally did look into the mirror and found that she looked just as familiar as the day before, bushy hair and all. Taking her customary deep breath to relax herself she opened the door and stepped outside the bathroom. Fred was awake by now and reading the Prophet in bed.

"Morning," she offered tentatively.

"Morning," Fred replied putting the paper aside, "So what's the verdict?"

"Excuse me?" Hermione asked confused.

"You've just spent an hour in that bathroom, no doubt thinking about last night and weighing the pros and cons. I wanna know what you have decided," Fred explained good-naturedly, a small smile playing on his lips.

Hermione was once more surprised at his ability to read her like an open book, but she also saw the nervousness that lingered right behind the carefree exterior he had put up. She slowly made her way towards the bed and sat down besides Fred ignoring, for now, the fact that she very well knew he was naked underneath the sheets.

"I think…that this is all moving very fast…and that I had never expected to…develop feelings for you. I did, though, and I don't regret sleeping with you," Hermione explained truthfully. Fred looked relieved at her words.

"Good," Fred grinned playfully, "Does that mean we can do it again?"

Fred tugged at her arm and pulled her on top of him. Hermione smiled into his kiss.

"We need to get to the Ministry."

"The Ministry isn't going anywhere," Fred whispered and successfully distracted Hermione by running his hands up and down her spine.

"It's not like we have an appointment," he mumbled before burrowing one of his hands in Hermione's unruly hair and deepening their kiss. Hermione returned his kiss passionately enjoying the feel of Fred's strong body underneath her.

Until they heard a sharp knock on the door and George poked his head inside.

"Oi, are you two at it again? Shouldn't you be at the Ministry?"

Hermione groaned and buried her face in Fred's chest, embarrassed. Fred threw a pillow in the general direction of the door. George successfully ducked the airborne cushion and continued unperturbed, "I'll open the shop now. You two should get a move on." Shaking his head George left the room before any more feathered missiles could threaten his well-being.

Alone once more, Hermione didn't move from her spot on top of Fred, her cheek comfortably resting on his bare chest, listening to his heartbeat.

"We're confusing the hell out of him," Fred finally broke the quiet.

"George?" Hermione asked.

"I think, yesterday he suspected there was something going on between us because of the Marriage Law, as a front, almost. Today he finds us like this. Poor chap probably doesn't know what to think anymore." Hermione noted Fred didn't sound too apologetic.

"Fred, have you thought about just telling him?" Hermione asked raising her head so she could look at his face, "I mean, I've got Harry to talk to, he knows. I'd understand if you wanna tell George."

"Maybe," Fred answered evasively, "But at this point I'm afraid he's going to be mad because I didn't tell him upfront." Before Hermione had a chance to reply Fred sat up taking her with him, "We should really get going."

After a quick breakfast Hermione and Fred went to the Ministry of Magic. They Floo'd in together, Fred hugging Hermione tightly from behind so they wouldn't get jostled against each other during the ride. Once they reached one of the many gilded fireplaces in the Atrium Fred let go of Hermione's waist, taking her hand instead.

They made their way over to the security desk. When they passed the Fountain of Brethren Hermione involuntarily shuddered remembering that one night when she had been at the Ministry with Harry, Ron, Ginny, Neville and Luna. Even though she hadn't seen the fight between Voldemort and Dumbledore, she had passed the Atrium when she had been escorted back to Hogwarts. It had been utterly demolished.

Evidently the Fountain of Brethren had since been restored, although Hermione still noticed some cracks and dents and the jet of water flying from the wizard's wand seemed to be somewhat irregular. It gave her an odd sense of satisfaction to see that the Ministry hadn't been able to cover up all the remnants of Voldemort's visit. _Serves them right_.

Fred and Hermione weren't the only ones who made their way over to the security desks, where three Ministry employees were now stationed. Several other witches and wizards, mostly couples, walked over from the fireplaces and others joined from the direction of the visitor's entrance. Small lines were forming in front of each desk as people anxiously waited to be searched and have their wands registered.

"Bloody Marriage Law," the badly shaven Ministry employee examining Hermione's wand grunted disagreeably, "Haven't even read the Prophet yet."

After they had been properly searched, registered and provided with visitor's badges Fred and Hermione joined the stream of wizards walking through the golden gates and towards the lift. Hermione was just about to ask Fred whether he knew on which floor the registrar's office would be, but closed her mouth again the moment she took a look at the lifts. There were huge signs floating above each elevator. Glittering purple letters read _Registrar's office: Level 2_.

"Somehow I doubt we'll be the only ones getting off at level two," Fred muttered when they joined a rather long queue in front of the elevators.

It took several minutes until it was their turn to enter through the golden grates and step into the elevators. People were standing as closes as sardines and every time someone wanted to get off at one of the lower levels half the people in the elevator had to step out to let them through. By the time Hermione and Fred, together with several other witches and wizards, arrived at level two Fred was wearing a scowl and Hermione was chewing her lip anxiously.

They followed the floating purple arrows pointing them towards the registrar's office, though the direction signs were completely unnecessary, since they could have just walked towards the source of all the voices. Once they stepped through a set of large oak doors Hermione and Fred stood in a large corridor already half filled with waiting couples. At the end of the corridor there was another set of oak doors and above them floated a purple number. Hermione heard a bell chime and the glittering number changed from 132 to 133. A wizard in flaming red robes and a tiny witch, a couple by the looks of it, went inside the office a small number 133 floating above their heads.

"Should've gotten up even earlier," Fred remarked, tapping a small purple box near the door they had just come through. A beam of purple light shot out of the box and a glittering 564 appeared above Fred's head. He groaned.

They got comfortable on the floor of the corridor, as some early birds had long ago taken the few available seats, and waited. Bored and thoroughly regretting not taking a book Hermione looked around the room. Most couples looked about as anxious and nervous as she felt, the Marriage Law having put them all in an awkward position. A few wizards were looking angry. Hermione imagined they were there to give the registrar a piece of their mind. Some looked absolutely besotted with their partners and others again seemed to feel the desperate need to convince the other people in the hallway that they were indeed a couple by subjecting everybody in their close vicinity to a private show. Hermione redirected her gaze to the floor when the witch sitting against the opposite wall of the corridor started crawling onto her fiancé's lap.

"At least the Ministry is kind enough to provide entertainment while we wait," Fred remarked with a chuckle. Hermione elbowed him in the ribs and the witch opposite of them glared from her position on her fiancé's lap.

By the time number 563 floated above the oak doors Hermione herself was lying with her head in Fred's lap, cushioned by his winter cloak, having just spent the last half hour counting the cracks in the ceiling.

They slowly got up, dusted themselves off and walked through the crowded corridor towards the entrance to the office. While Fred restlessly watched the glittering number, willing it to change to 564, Hermione looked at the polished brass plaque on the door reading:

_Department __for the Regulation of Wizarding Marriages_

_Head Registrar: Dolores __J. Umbridge._

"Noooo," Hermione groaned, just as the number changed. Fred also had the opportunity to read the plaque, before the doors opened and they had no choice other than to go through. Looking seriously worried for the first time, Fred took Hermione's hand and together they entered the registrar's office.

They stood in a large room with several desks on either side. More than a dozen Ministry employed witches and wizards were working at the registrar's office, answering owl post, filling in paperwork and mastering the gigantic administrative feat in general that had resulted from the release of the Marriage Law.

At the far end of the room a desk twice the size of everyone else's stood on a small pedestal. Hermione didn't need to read the polished name plaque to know it was Umbridge's desk. Several grotesque porcelain figurines, loosely resembling playing kittens, on its surface attested to that.

Umbridge herself sat on a pink upholstered chair behind the desk, her hands folded neatly in front of her a patronizing smile contorting her unpleasant features. Like a gigantic toad she was presiding over her polliwogs. Reluctantly, Fred and Hermione walked up to her.

"Er…good morning," Hermione started awkwardly. "We're here because of the Marriage Law."

"Tut, tut, my dear. Everyone is here because of that," Umbridge replied sweetly, "What exactly do you want?"

"We've come to be exempted from the Ministry's choosing process. We, that is Fred and I, want to get married," Hermione further explained. Both she and Fred were still standing awkwardly in front of Umbridge's desk, as the newly appointed registrar hadn't offered them a seat.

"I see," Umbridge chirped, "Are you aware that the Ministry is in the position to ask detailed questions before administrating a marriage accreditation?"

"Yes, we've read the pamphlet," again Hermione was the one to answer.

"Well then," Umbridge said. "Take a seat."

Relieved that the first hurdle was taken and Umbridge hadn't thrown them out right away Hermione and Fred said down and prepared themselves for Umbridge's questions. Just when the registrar wanted to begin her enquiry another person arrived at the desk, taking a vacated seat at Umbridge's site.

"All files are in order, Dolores," the newly arrived wizard said before taking his quill, pointedly ignoring Hermione and Fred.

"Percy Weasley is going to protocol our meeting and assist me in finding my decision," Umbridge explained before starting her questionnaire.

"Names please."

Hermione stated both their names, while Fred was busy staring at his older brother, who in turn busied himself with writing down their names as if he hadn't known them all along.

"Ages?" Umbridge continued seemingly unaware of the tension surrounding her desk.

"Blood Status?"

"When did this relationship start?"

Hermione answered all questions, while Fred silently sat beside her.

"Do you wish to get married within the next 30 days?" Umbridge asked sweetly looking at Fred and Hermione as if she was expecting them to decline.

"Yes we do," Hermione answered adopting Umbridge's saccharine tone and giving her a broad smile for good measure. Fred managed a smile as well, which didn't falter when his brother acknowledged his presence for the first time by coughing disapprovingly.

"You believe your relationship is serious enough to progress into the marital state?" Umbridge continued unfazed.

Hermione once again answered affirmatively.

"Explain why!" Umbridge demanded, looking at them expectantly.

"Er..." Hermione faltered.

"Unsure about their relationship," Percy said out loud while writing the corresponding note into the protocol. Umbridge nodded approvingly. Hermione frowned.

"We have very serious feelings for each other and wish to spend the rest of our lives together," Fred spat, speaking up for the first time.

"Is that so?" Umbridge asked, "And you believe your own choice in a partner is going to be more prudent than the match the Ministry can provide for you?"

Fred's face clearly said, 'I wouldn't even trust the Ministry to choose my socks for me let alone a lifelong companion'. Out loud he said, "I believe Hermione is the one for me and nobody else would be better."

Umbridge looked disappointed while Percy once again coughed disapprovingly.

"I'm still not convinced your relationship isn't serious enough," Umbridge said, "You say you've been together since last summer. Are there any witnesses for that?"

"No," Hermione supplied, "We've only told our families this Christmas."

"And they approve?"

"Not exactly. They are kind of divided in their opinion." Which wasn't a lie, as Hermione reasoned with herself, although George currently was the only family member waving the 'I support Fred and Hermione' banner; he nevertheless had taken a side.

Umbridge tutted critically, but dropped that particular line of questioning.

"Are you able to support a family?" she asked Fred instead.

"Yes, I run a very successful business with my brother," Fred supplied.

"What kind of business?" Umbridge prompted.

"A joke shop," Fred said, Umbridge and Percy managed to tut simultaneously.

"The Ministry is a very good customer of ours," Fred continued unfazed, though Hermione could see that he was gripping the arms of his chair so tightly his knuckles had turned white. She covered one of his hands with one of her own to get him to relax. Percy sneered at them and Fred stiffened even more.

"Well then," Umbridge cleared her throat, "if the Ministry buys your products…" Fred had difficulties to suppress a smirk.

"I'm still reluctant to approve your request. I'll have you know that already several people have voiced their interest in Miss Granger's hand in marriage." Hermione gasped and Umbridge delighted in her shock. "Though I can't quite see the attraction," she added nastily, "all applicants are outstanding members of the community."

"I also have to add that as a brother to Mr. Weasley I have considerable doubts as to his ability to support a family, not so much economically, but emotionally. He seems to be lacking stability and sense of responsibility," Percy said importantly.

Hermione tightened her grip on Fred's hand before hissing, "How would you know? You haven't had any contact with your family in years." Percy reddened, whether in anger or embarrassment Hermione couldn't tell, and returned his gaze to the protocol.

"Yes, yes, a lot of evidence to suggest this is not a relationship destined to be permanent," Umbridge seemed positively delighted.

"That's not true," Hermione insisted, raising her voice slightly. The employees of the registrar's office where starting to eavesdrop on their conversation. "Fred and I are very serious about each other."

"Maybe, maybe," Umbridge chirped once more and consulted the questionnaire in front of her. "Have there been any sexual relations?" she asked bluntly.

Hermione could only stare at her open mouthed.

"Not that this is any of your business," Fred answered, "but yes." Percy gave his loudest cough yet.

"The Ministry has to take every aspect into account when making its decision," Umbridge justified her question.

"Old spinster," Fred muttered under his breath, though Hermione was the only one who could hear him.

Umbridge consulted the papers in front of her again. "I really ought to decline this request, for the good of the Ministry…" she muttered taking care that everyone in the room could hear her.

"You listen to me," Hermione suddenly snapped. Leaning halfway over Umbridge's desk she purposefully invaded the toad's personal space and continued threateningly, "I don't care how many personal questions you ask, Fred and I are a couple and we want to get married. Now you can either approve or we're going straight to the Wizengamot and file a complaint because the Ministry isn't upholding its own laws."

"If you think the mighty Wizengamot is going to listen to a little Mud…" Umbridge tried to sound condescendingly, but the effect was ruined when she scooted back in her chair in order to avoid the angry Hermione.

"_And_…" Hermione interrupted her voice rising to a crescendo, "I'll be having a nice chat with Rita Skeeter about your practices. I'm not sure the Ministry would want this kind of publicity."

Everyone in the room was now openly listening to Hermione, work had ceased completely.

"Go 'Mione!" Fred mumbled, though he hid his grin in one of his hands. Hermione was still leaning over Umbridge's desk, breathing hard.

"Well, to be honest," Umbridge spat, clearly trying to save face, "I wouldn't want to burden any respectable member of our community with you anyways," and with a disgusted look at Fred she added, "You truly deserve each other." For emphasis she rigidly hit her wand at the papers in front of Percy and a bold stamp of 'approved' appeared on them.

"For once we agree," Hermione spat, snatching up the papers and leaving with Fred in tow. Nobody bothered to say good-bye to Percy.

"Don't forget to make an appointment for your nuptials," Umbridge shouted after them. "Wouldn't want you to miss your deadline and be charged with assault."

Hermione stormed out of the office barking at the next Ministry employee to show her where to get the appointment for a wedding. Fred and Hermione had to wait in yet another line to get said appointment. By the time a smiling Ministry witch wished them 'Good luck' for their February 20th wedding, both wanted nothing more than to leave the place. Clutching their papers to her chest Hermione followed a seething Fred to the elevators and into the Atrium. Seeing yet another line in front of the outgoing fireplaces Fred veered towards the visitors' entrance instead. Both he and Hermione had ripped off their visitor's badges before they even entered the telephone booth.

tbc

a/n: Chapter 12 finally is finished. It feels like every chapter is taken longer and longer and longer…

Anyway the next chapter is already partially written. Though it's probably still going to take me at least a couple of weeks to update, because I'm currently swamped with work for university. If you wanna know when to expect an update, see my shiny new MM icon etc. check out my livejournal. I usually keep it up to date (link is in the profil).

If you liked the chapter, please review. It's always good to get feedback. I've you didn't like the chapter you HAVE to review and tell me what I did wrong. Thanks to everyone who reviewed the previous chapters. It means a lot.

As usual many thanks to my lovely betas Katia and Joey. You rock!

I don't know what happened, but this chapter was free of any mistakes regarding capitalisation and I did all the commas when there was any speech (and believe me there was a lot). At least my betas didn't find any errors. Which, I guess, means I'm not completely stupid after all (it took only two separate beta reads of my own to edit out all those mistakes I had done while writing). Yay me! If you do find any of the previously mentioned mistakes in this chapter: DO NOT TELL ME! I'd like to keep my illusions. Thank you. ;)

_Next chapter:_ The aftermath of the visit at the MoM, lots of shopping and the rest of the weekend until Hermione has to return to Hogwarts.


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: JKR owns everything and I don't make any money with this story. The idea of the Marriage Law originated at wiktt, I believe. I'm just borrowing...

a/n: This story is AU since DH.

* * *

_**Magnetic Moment**_

**Chapter 13**

"Well that was romantic," Hermione remarked sarcastically once they had exited the telephone booth serving as visitor's entrance to the Ministry of Magic. Fred, for his part, just continued to look like he very much wished to destroy the odd inanimate object or two and walked ahead at a brisk pace.

Hermione tucked their papers safely away in one of her cloak pockets and followed along. She could understand his temper and even felt angry herself, but had no idea how to deal with an enraged Fred. Up to this point he had always been the one to cheer her up and, aside from the small episode in the storage room of WWW, Fred had always been the calmer one in dealing with all the marriage business.

Hermione was forced to admit that she still didn't know him all that well. She had no idea how to deal with a Fred that wasn't at least smiling. If anyone had asked her beforehand how Fred might react to a situation as such they had just encountered, Hermione would have guess he'd explode, shout himself hoarse, curse anybody in sight_verbally_ as well as _magically_, or even start a fight. Never would she have thought that Fred was one to silently steam, like he was doing now, and she wasn't sure what to do about it.

So Hermione settled for following behind him, hoping that Fred would at some point calm down enough to talk to her.

By the time they reached the Muggle entrance of the Leaky Cauldron Hermione was panting besides Fred. Fred was still scowling, but he turned to Hermione before he entered the pub.

"You wanna go for a quick bite?" he asked unexpectedly. It was the first thing he had said since leaving the Ministry.

"Sure," Hermione agreed, realising that it was well past noon and that she indeed felt a bit hungry despite the anxiety this day had caused her so far.

Fred went ahead into the Leaky Cauldron, but instead of finding a seat to eat at the well-known pub, Fred just barely greeted Tom before passing through the back entrance and walking towards the brick wall. Hermione followed confused as Fred entered Diagon Alley and, resuming his swift tempo, strode purposefully ahead.

Fred passed WWW and Madam Malkin's before turning off Diagon Alley into a darker and much dingier looking side street. Hermione had been at Knocturne Alley just once, but the experience was sufficient to assure Hermione that she did _not_ want to eat anything being sold in one of the highly questionable establishments residing there.

However, before Hermione had caught her breath enough to protest and ask Fred where he was going, he made yet another turn and entered a small but decidedly cleaner looking street. Diurnal Road seemed to house a variety of different shops and stores, Hermione spotted signs like 'Uncommon Uncommonesses – Surprisingly Useful Curiosities' and 'Incomparable Compositions – The Best of Wizarding and Muggle Music'. One store in particular caught Hermione's eyes, for one because it was painted in bright purple, and secondly because it advertised itself to be 'Bookworm's Bambooza – Rare Books And Literature With A Twist. '

"We can go in there later," Fred said, noticing Hermione's interest, "but for now I'm hungry and I'd imagine I won't get you to leave Bambooza's for hours."

Hermione was relieved to hear that Fred almost sounded like himself again and happily followed him towards a small café with a huge pink and yellow striped marquee. There were small tables underneath it, blocking the better part of the road. Heating charms allowed the guests to comfortably sit outside, never mind it being late January. Hermione and Fred found an unoccupied table at the side and once the waitress, a tiny witch in pink and orange robes, had greeted them and asked for their choice of drinks, perused their menus.

"Their soups and sandwiches are excellent," Fred remarked, the previous agitation not quite gone from his voice.

Their waitress returned, carrying two large glasses of pumpkin juice. Fred and Hermione placed their orders and the waitress hurried away quickly, her small legs almost seeming to blur with her speed. Hermione slowly sipped her pumpkin juice and watched the people on the street.

Diurnal Road was just as busy as Diagon Alley, though the patrons distinctly varied from those of the old-established shopping district. The wizards and witches walking by their table seemed to be much younger, most of them in their twenties or thirties, wearing more colourful robes and, at least in some cases, more flamboyant hairstyles. Hermione couldn't stop herself from staring after a witch whose hair was dyed cobalt blue and spelled to resemble Big Ben. Altogether, Hermione could have sworn the Lovegoods must be living somewhere on that street.

"Diurnal Road is the It place to be, right now," Fred explained, "We had first wanted to buy premises here, but didn't want to lose the younger costumers and families still shopping in Diagon Alley. They don't like crossing Knocturne Alley to get here."

Hermione nodded, taking in this new piece of information. Having grown-up in the Muggle world she still knew little of the wizarding places in London. Noticing though that Fred seemed a bit more relaxed and was once again smiling, albeit a bit crookedly, Hermione changed the topic.

"Are you okay, Fred?" she asked, looking at him carefully.

The smile on Fred's lips disappeared, but he didn't look away.

"Yeah," he answered quietly, "I'm sorry about just now."

"It's okay. Your brother can be a right git," Hermione replied, correctly identifying Percy as main reason for Fred's agitation.

"That he is!" Fred agreed.

"I'm sorry your family is being so rude because of me."

"Not your fault. Besides, let's be honest, Percy was a rude git way before you and I started our relationship," Fred spoke the last sentence much lighter and changed the topic shortly afterwards. Hermione didn't press him further and by the time their food arrived they had once again settled into their easy banter.

* * *

Once Hermione and Fred had finished their food and paid the cheque they set out to do to some shopping. Hermione immediately veered off in the direction of Bookworm's Bamboooza, but Fred laughingly grabbed her around her waist and stirred her in the opposite direction.

"Not so fast, we've got one more stop to make before you can go to your books."

Keeping one arm around her waist, Fred led Hermione along the busy street. He came to a stop in front of a tiny house, which was remarkable in its simplicity. In an environment where all houses tried to outdo each other with vibrant colours and outrageous designs, the simple brick front was standing out like nothing else. The shop windows were void of any objects and only the small sign above the black door gave some vague indications about the purpose of the shop.

"Priscilla's Precious Products," Hermione read out loud, "What do you want to buy here?" she asked Fred.

Foregoing any form of explanation Fred opened the door for Hermione and ushered her inside. The indoors of Priscilla's Precious Products was just as unremarkable as its exterior. There wasn't a single item on display and the furniture was limited to a large wooden counter, which stood in the middle of the small room right in front of a second door.

"Fred?" Hermione asked looking at him questioningly.

"Patience is a virtue, but apparently not one of yours," Fred teased and then added, "I just thought I ought to buy my fiancée an engagement ring."

"Fred…" Hermione was speechless. Raising to her tiptoes she softly kissed him on the lips.

Their kiss was cut short by the arrival of the saleswoman, Priscilla, Hermione assumed. Pricilla was extraordinary from her corpulent figure to her massive golden jewellery and the florid pattern of her robes, everything on the woman seemed to be on a grand scale. Hermione looked at her in astonishment.

"Good day, Fred," she greeted in a voice surprisingly soft and melodious for such an opulent woman, "always good to see one of my more charming customers."

"We're here for…"

"Rings, I assume," Priscilla interrupted, looking between Hermione and Fred.

"Yes," Fred confirmed.

"You're the third couple today. Don't know what the Ministry is thinking getting everyone hitched. Balmiest piece of legislation I've ever seen."

"Tell me about it, the Ministry really has gone off their rockers. I can't believe they passed this law," Fred readily agreed.

"You'll have to smile less at your fiancée, my dear, if you want to sell this line," Priscilla replied dryly and then asked for Hermione's hand to take measurements.

Hermione stepped forward towards the counter and stretched her hand out to Priscilla, while simultaneously looking curiously at Fred who by that time had become absolutely fascinated with the non-existent store display, a tell-tale blush creeping up his neck.

Once Priscilla had taken measurements so thoroughly it would put Mr. Ollivander to shame - Hermione was a bit uncertain how the span between her earlobe and her shoulder factored into choosing an engagement ring – the saleswoman waltzed back into the adjourning room. Several minutes later she returned a small box in her hand.

"I think one of those might be the right one," Priscilla announced dramatically. She put the petite and quite unremarkable box onto the counter with the utmost care and then reached underneath the counter for a folded velvet cloth. Unfolding the black velvet, Priscilla spread it on the counter, than slowly opened the small box and one by one lay its contents onto the fabric.

Hermione took in a breath. In front of her lay the mostly beautiful rings, with the most delicately carved stones she had ever seen. Each ring seemed to be unique, a masterpiece of craftsmanship. All kinds of jewels and gem stones sparkled in the winter sun flowing through the shop window.

"Oh my…" Hermione was at a lost.

"Take your time choosing, my dear," Priscilla advised, "This is a special ring for a special occasion."

"What about this one?" Fred suggested, peering over Hermione's shoulder and pointing at a golden ring with a rather stunning and large diamond encased by minute rubies.

"A bit flashy, don't you think?" Hermione replied, eying the diamond ring.

"Aren't diamond rings supposed to be flashy?" Fred asked, resting his chin on her shoulder while Hermione still stared towards the ensemble of jewellery in front of her.

"There's a reason why men aren't supposed to pick out jewellery," Priscilla huffed. Hermione smiled.

"How about this one? I think it would fit you nicely," Priscilla pointed at a silvery ring at the upper right corner of the cloth. Compared to the other rings this particular one was rather simple holding only one medium sized stone embedded in a delicate platinum band. As Hermione leaned closer she was able to make out tiny carved inscriptions on the surface. The gemstone was cut in a checkerboard pattern, displaying several facets of gold, peach and purple.

"The inscriptions are archaic northern runes, the symbols for love and dedication. The stone is an Ametrine only found in the mines of Bolivia, wand-mined by wizards," Priscilla explained.

Hermione couldn't stop looking at the ring. Delicate. Precious. Meaningful. Simple. It was perfect.

Noticing her approval Priscilla plucked the ring from the cloth and extended it towards Fred.

"Your part," her melodious voice instructed.

Fred carefully took the offered ring and Hermione turned so she was facing him. Looking into her eyes for a brief moment, Fred then took her hand and wordlessly placed the ring on her finger.

"Thank you," Hermione whispered. Fred just nodded.

Their moment was cut short by Priscilla, who was done packing away the remaining engagement rings and asked, "Have you thought about wedding bands?"

The couple turned back towards the saleswoman, shaking their heads simultaneously.

"Let's see then."

Fred was subjected to the same measurements Hermione had endured earlier and Priscilla once again bustled back into the other room. Hermione, still looking at her engagement ring in awe, hardly noticed.

Priscilla came back, another box, which was similar to the one containing the different engagement rings in her hands.

The selection of their wedding bands turned out to be a lot more difficult than choosing an engagement ring. While Hermione insisted she wanted something simple and elegant, Fred called her choices boring. Hermione on the other hand found the rings he picked to be too extravagant or simply _impossible_.

Priscilla was forced to return twice more to her storage room and the couple still hadn't agreed on a set of rings.

"Whoever said opposites attract clearly never had to sell them jewellery," she grumbled loud enough for Fred and Hermione to hear. Hermione blushed. Fred just grinned. He seemed to be unfazed by their disability to settle on a style for their wedding bands. Priscilla strongly suspected he rather liked seeing the indignant sparkle in Hermione's eyes whenever he suggested a particularly outrageous pair of rings.

From her fourth trip into the adjourning room Priscilla returned with a box so small it could only contain two rings.

"Those are the last ones I've got." She announced, before placing the box on the counter.

Then she opened it.

Inside there were two golden wedding bands. One of them, the one for the woman, had a small diamond splinter embedded, which sparkled pink in the sunlight. Both rings were engraved with the same kind of runes that already adorned Hermione's new engagement ring.

"Respect, friendship and devotion," Priscilla translated.

They had found their rings.

* * *

Once Fred had arranged for the bill to be sent to his flat he and Hermione said good-bye to Priscilla and left her shop. On their way to the bookshop Fred explained to Hermione that Priscilla not only dealt in jewellery but also in rare items in general. Fred and George regularly bought some of the more unusual ingredients for their joke shop merchandise from her. 

The rest of the afternoon was spent at Bookworm's Bambooza. The second Hermione saw the countless purple shelves stacked with all sorts of different books in all kinds of genres she knew she'd become unfaithful to Flourish and Blotts. While Hermione happily perused the sections about History of Magic, Curse development and Dark Arts (one could never be prepared enough), Fred searched the Potions department and the Charms division. Before either knew it, it was evening and time to head home.

Packed with several new purchases from Bookworm's Bambooza, they arrived at WWW just as George was chasing the last costumers out of the shop for the day. The trio went upstairs into the twin's flat where Fred and Hermione related the day's events to George. George, for his part, dutifully admired Hermione's engagement ring, cursed Umbridge into oblivion, and declared Percy to be the worst prat ever to be born into the Weasley clan. All in all, it was a rather nice end to a tiring day.

* * *

After having a bit of a lie-in with Fred on Sunday, Hermione snatched George after lunch in order to go shopping for a wedding gown. They started their quest at Madam Malkin's but wedding gowns, as they were soon to discover, were already sold out. Hermione dragged George in every clothing store in Diagon Alley, always with the same result: all wedding dresses were gone. 

Therefore, they went to Diurnal Road in hopes of finding a wedding dress there. There were some gowns left at a few clothing stores on that road, but pickings were slim. According to Hermione most dresses left looked like negligees (George insisted Fred wouldn't mind) and the other were downright hideous (George agreed).

After three hours of fruitlessly searching for a dress George and Hermione returned to Diagon Alley. George hopefully stirred into the direction of WWW, claiming never to voluntarily go shopping with a witch again, which prompted Hermione to ask what had given him the impression that he had come along on a voluntary basis. An exasperated George was dragged back to Madam Malkin's, the very place where they had begun their futile dress hunt.

"My dear, I'm afraid we're still all out on wedding dress. The high demand, you understand," Madam Malkin said when Hermione entered the store George in tow.

"I'm aware. I was wondering if you have any evening gowns. They don't have to be white." Hermione stated.

"Of course, deary. If you don't want to marry in white."

"Oh I do, I'll just magically dye it."

"My, my, let me warn you, all those dresses are already dyed by magic. It'd be extremely difficult to change the colour now. The charm would never stick throughout the whole wedding, I'm afraid."

"I'm sharing a dorm with two witches who, if they were to choose to study their textbooks half as religiously as they read Witches Weekly, would easily put my test scores to shame. I'm sure they will come up with a solution," Hermione replied determinedly.

Still not entirely convinced, but nevertheless glad to be able to be of service after all Madam Malkin showed a wide variety of dresses to Hermione. In the meantime George tiredly fell down on a chair, obviously placed there for the exact propose of aiding worn-down shopping partners, and waited while Hermione tried on dress upon dress, upon dress.

The one she finally chose was a dark apricot, though the colour was meaningless anyways, since it was subject to change. Other than being orange, the dress was strapless, with a formfitting bodice and a flowing skirt.

Hermione liked the simple elegance of the gown, Madam Malkin was proud of the delicate lace stitching at the hem and George prophesised that Fred would keel over once he saw Hermione wearing it. Sold!

Hermione instructed Madam Malkin to charge her vault at Gringotts, which her parents had opened for her when she had started her first year and arranged for the dress to be sent to Hogwarts so Fred wouldn't see it. Their mission accomplished, George and Hermione left the boutique. Finally done shopping they returned to Weasley's Wizard Wheezes where Fred eagerly waited for them, pulling Hermione in for a kiss as soon as she entered the room.

The couple spent the rest of the afternoon huddled closely together on the living-room couch finalizing the plans for their wedding. Before long it was evening and Hermione's scheduled timeslot to Floo back to Hogwarts had arrived. Hermione kissed Fred one last time and shouted a good-bye to George, who had fled to his room earlier claiming Fred and Hermione were making him nauseous. She took her bag, which now not only contained the Carrot-tops are green, Einstein!'-T-shirt but also a black shirt with the Weird Sisters logo on the front which Fred had worn the other day and Hermione had nicked when he wasn't looking, and stepped into the fireplaces. Smiling one more time at her fiancé Hermione said 'Hogwarts' and was gone.

tbc

* * *

Look at me posting a new chapter just a week after my last update. How ´bout that? Next update should be around March 15th. 

I really hope you guys like the chapter, even though it ended up being a bit fluffy. :) Reviews are my ersatz-chocolate (less calories), so please FEED ME.

Thanks as always to my lovely betas Katia and Joey, especially for all their help concerning the names.

_Next chapter:_ rumours, gardening and Newton's Colouring Circle. ;)


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: JKR owns everything and I don't make any money with this story. The idea of the Marriage Law originated at wiktt, I believe. I'm just borrowing...

a/n: This story is AU since DH.

_**Magnetic Moment**_

**Chapter 14**

The good mood, which Hermione had been in all Sunday, evaporated the second she set foot in Professor McGonagall's office. Once again a couple of other teachers, Professors Vector and Burbage, were present for safety reasons. One of the students was also there. It was Susan Bones, who apparently had just arrived before Hermione and was sobbing her heart out.

"There, there," Professor McGonagall awkwardly tried to comfort the distressed girl. She was having little success and was barely able to give Hermione an acknowledging nod before another burst of tears forced the Headmistress to return her attention to her crying student.

Hermione silently slipped out of the office and made her way towards Gryffindor tower. There, she found Harry playing chess with Neville. Talking loud enough so the surrounding Gryffindors could hear her as well and thereby preventing anybody from suspecting her relationship with Fred had been a put-up affair, Hermione told the two boys about her recent engagement. Neville was surprised but soon congratulated her heartily, as did Harry, though he also whispered a "well played," into her ear.

A few other classmates came over to offer their congratulations: Ginny and Ron were not among them. Hermione briefly looked around for the two Weasleys in the common room. She spied Ginny in a far corner talking to a fellow sixth year girl. Ginny caught Hermione's glance and Hermione was surprised to see Ginny was not scowling at her for once. That is not to say that Ginny was looking pleased or friendly, but at least her eyes had lost the malevolent content. If anything, Ginny seemed to look sad and Hermione, too, felt sad, missing her friend even though she was so close by.

Ron did not seem to be in the common room. Hermione didn't know it then, but he had been there when she had made her announcement. He had left shortly afterwards not wanting to intrude on her apparent happiness even though it was ripping him apart inside. Had Hermione been aware of his presence, she would have been surprised that he refrained from causing a scene. Then again, Ron had been ignoring her ever since they had returned to Hogwarts, so Hermione would probably just have assumed he was continuing his tactics of avoidance.

Harry and Neville caught Hermione up with everybody else's reaction to the Law. Hermione was surprised to hear that a couple of Ravenclaws and a Hufflepuff sixth year, all Muggle-born, had decided to hand back their wands and return to their parents rather than being forced to get married. One of them had been Susan Bones' boyfriend, which explained the girl's grief.

According to Harry and Neville, Hogwarts was ablaze with rumours about who was going to marry whom. Anthony Goldstein and Lisa Turpin had announced their engagement during lunch and a lot of people expected Theodore Nott to propose to Megan Jones, since they had been going out for almost three years. Wayne Hopkins on the other hand had refused to marry the Muggle-born Sally-Ann Perks. Madam Pomfrey was currently treating Sally with a calming draught.

For days all Hogwarts seemed to talk about was the Marriage Law and the upcoming weddings. The _Daily Prophet_ was bursting with wedding announcements. Hermione even noticed a recent Death Eater attack in Sussex with two casualties was pushed back to page 15. For her part, Hermione tried to stay as inconspicuous as possible and focused on her studies. And if she snuck up to her room once in a while to sneak a peak at her newly arrived and currently still orange wedding dress, then that was all for show – almost.

* * *

About a week after returning to Hogwarts, Hermione received a note from Fred via owl post.

_Please meet me tonight __after curfew in the hidden passage behind the statue of the one-eyed crone. Harry knows how to get in._

_Fred_

That was all the message had said, and Hermione was quite disturbed because of it. She had no idea why Fred wanted to talk to her, the note gave no indication, but Hermione had a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach regardless. Fred wouldn't risk coming to Hogwarts without permission in the middle of the night if it weren't serious. Or at the very least he wouldn't make Hermione risk detention or worse because of him.

Consequently, Hermione spent all day, for she had received Fred's message during breakfast, worrying herself sick. Harry, when consulted, wasn't able to reassure her either. However, he did provide her with exact instructions as of how to reach the passageway as well as his Invisibility Cloak and the Marauder's Map so she wouldn't have to fear detection. The hours of the day stretched to an eternity until it was finally time for Hermione to go and meet Fred.

Five minutes before curfew Harry entered the Gryffindor common room through the Fat Lady's portrait, using their old trick of letting Hermione, disguised by the Invisibility Cloak, slip past him. Hermione then carefully made her way down towards the third floor, going slowly so she wouldn't make a sound. Whenever she passed one of the many ghosts patrolling the corridor, Hermione was forced to stand still and wait until they were gone. On the fourth floor she almost ran into Madam Hooch, but jumped aside just in time before the flying instructor strode past her. Hermione remained pressed against the wall for several minutes before she dared to continue.

Never in all the previous years had the corridors been so busy during the night. Hogwarts' security was tight and well fit for times of war.

Finally, Hermione reached the statue Harry had indicated. She tapped the witch lightly with her wand, just like Harry had told her and muttered, "Dissendium!" At once, the hump of the old woman opened and a small hole, just big enough to let Hermione through, appeared. Hermione cautiously glanced left and right, consulted the map and, assured that no one was around, hoisted herself up and pushed trough the whole.

The stone slide came as somewhat of a shock as Harry had neglected to mention it. Hermione gripped her wand tightly until she hit the earthy floor. Straightening up, Hermione lifted her wand and muttered, "Lumos!"

She was standing alone in the earthy passageway that she knew led to Honeydukes' cellar. Fred was nowhere in sight.

The ceiling was so low that her head almost brushed against it and the walls stood so close together that two people could not have walked next to each other. Hermione held her wand out in front of her trying to see further ahead, but the many turns and twists of the passageway made it impossible for her to see more than a few feet in advance.

Sighing, Hermione sat down on the dirty floor, leaning her back against one of the hard walls, and waited for Fred to appear.

It didn't take long until she heard muffled footsteps. Standing up Hermione raised her wand once more in awareness, but let it sink down again when she heard a familiar voice.

"Hermione?"

Fred Weasley came around the last bend of the passageway, carrying a lit wand as well, halting in front of her his head bend, because the ceiling was too low for him to stand upright.

"Fred!" Hermione whispered relieved and hugged him. Considering the abruptness of the note she was glad to see him standing before her in one piece, seemingly unhurt.

"Hermione!"

Fred hugged her back tightly, his arms around her back and his face buried in Hermione's hair.

They stood together for several minutes until Hermione finally took a step back and peered up towards Fred's face. In the dimness of their wand lights she was unable to make out his expression.

"What's wrong? What happened?" she asked worriedly. Fred didn't answer outright; taking a seat on the floor instead, much like Hermione had done earlier, his legs half bent but nevertheless reaching the opposite wall due to the narrow confines of the passageway. His head rested against the wall behind him and his eyes were closed.

Hermione sat down beside him, close enough so that their shoulders brushed against each other. Taking his hand into hers she waited until Fred was ready to talk.

"I visited my parents yesterday," he began, his voice low and strained. "I wanted to tell them about our wedding, ask them if they wanted to come…"

Hermione squeezed Fred's hand but remained silent when he paused.

"Apparently, I could have saved myself the trouble," Fred continued, sounding bitter now.

"Percy already wrote them a detailed account of our audience with Umbridge, including, so it seems, the fact that we had sex and his much valued opinion that I'm making a most unfit and imprudent match."

"What did your parents say?" Hermione asked carefully.

"Oh, they agreed with Percy, of course. There was a lot of yelling, mainly on Mum's side. The gist is that _my preceding irresponsible behaviour is clear evidence that I'm far too immature to make life altering decisions like entering matrimony_," Fred said, speaking the last part in a mock high voice.

Hermione sighed and rested her head on Fred's shoulder.

"I'm sorry. I really wish they'd have responded differently."

"I should have known… the way Mum reacted on Christmas," Fred said dejectedly. "Still, I can't believe they won't even come to my wedding." Hermione could feel him shiver beside her.

There were no words that could have provided comfort, nothing to say that would make the reactions of his parents less hurtful. All the same, Hermione snuggled closer to his side murmuring soothing words into his ear.

"I'm sorry for dragging you out here. I know you hate breaking the rules," Fred said after a while.

Hermione slowly raised her hands to her face; his hand still tightly encased in hers, and pressed a chaste kiss to his palm. "I'm glad you came," she whispered back. She turned her head towards Fred. They were sitting so close their noses almost touched and their breaths mingled in the small space between their lips.

Fred lifted his free hand towards Hermione's head and traced the contours of her face, which he could barely make out in the dim wand light. Hermione closed her eyes just letting herself feel his touch. Slowly, like he was savouring every moment of it, Fred ran his fingers along the line of her lips, her chin, and her cheeks and up to her eyes. No words where necessary when Fred finally cupped her cheek in his hand and gently drew Hermione nearer, their lips meeting in a soft kiss.

Soon, though, their kisses grew to be more needy and fervent. Fred pulled Hermione towards him until she was seated sideways on his lap. Hermione clutched at his shoulders and squirmed in his lap still feeling the need to further increase their contact even as Fred roamed his hands up and down her back and underneath her shirt.

In between two passionate kisses Fred whispered, "I love you," and Hermione responded in kind.

It didn't matter that they were in a dirty and narrow passageway underneath the grounds of Hogwarts. It didn't matter that the only reason they had started a relationship had been to save Hermione from the Marriage Law or even that their families had turned from them.

It didn't count.

All that matter was that they were there, with each other, together, as close as they could possibly be.

* * *

It was very late at night or rather early in the morning when Hermione finally stumbled back into the Gryffindor common room. There she found Harry, asleep in one of the armchairs by the fire, clearly waiting for her to return.

Hermione shook his shoulders lightly until Harry grudgingly opened his eyes, then she let herself fall into an armchair next to her best friend.

"Did you just get back? What time is it?" Harry asked, stretching in his chair, muscles stiff from the hours of sitting in this cramped position.

"Yeah. Around 4am I think."

Harry lifted his eyebrows surprised. Once he was fully awake he noticed Hermione's dishevelled and dusty clothing. There also were smudges of earth on her cheeks and her hair was beyond tangled.

"I'm officially going to assume you and Fred were doing some late night gardening," Harry remarked dryly. Hermione blushed, though it was a bit hard to tell underneath all the grime.

"Is everything alright? What did he want?" Harry asked.

Hermione explained about the Weasley's reaction to their engagement. Harry was sufficiently angered on her behalf. He even offered to just knock some sense into Ron at least. Hermione declined.

"I really do understand his reaction. I had just really hoped at least Mr. and Mrs. Weasley would come around, for Fred's sake."

"Yeah, but at least George is on your side. He's not going to miss his twin's wedding. And one hundred Dementors couldn't stop me from going."

"You better come. I need you to walk me down the aisle. After all, you are like a brother to me, one of the most important people in my life."

"I'd be honoured," Harry replied, truly touched though perhaps a little uncomfortable with the emotional turn their conversation had taken.

"And you need to be my witness," Hermione added.

"So, I'm going to be Father of the Bride as well as Maid of Honour?"

"Yup." Hermione grinned.

"Just so you know, I'm drawing the line at flower girl. You'll have to do without one."

* * *

Thankfully, the day after Fred's visit was a Sunday, and Hermione allowed herself to sleep until noon. After lunch she went into the library, for once not to study for her NEWTs, but to do research on dying charms. She soon discovered that Madam Malkin had not exaggerated the difficulties of changing the colour on magically dyed dresses.

Resolving that asking Parvati and Lavender was inevitable, Hermione talked to her dorm mates during dinner. The two girls had been less obnoxious to Hermione lately, which Hermione attributed to the massive overflow of rumours at Hogwarts. She suspected that the two gossip queens were simply stretched too thin to spare much time for pestering Hermione about her love life.

Nonetheless, Lavender and Parvati readily agreed to help Hermione with her dress, the duo immediately spouting off specifics on magical dye and Newton's colouring circle until Hermione's head spun and she couldn't help being impressed as well as slightly afraid. Therefore, it was agreed upon that the three girls would meet on Wednesday after lessons for a girls' night in and wedding preparations.

It wasn't until after dinner that Hermione remembered that she had never been to a girls' night. In fact, she was somewhat proud that she had manage to refuse Parvati and Lavender's urgings to this regard for six and a half years and was rather sad to blemish her perfect record. Due to her lack of experience, however, Hermione also had no idea what was required from her for such an event. Not wanting to ask Lavender and Parvati, because frankly the obscenely large input on magical dye hat been disturbing enough and still not able to talk to Ginny due to the girl's continual resentment, Hermione asked Harry instead.

Harry for some reason blushed when asked about girls' nights and claimed to have no knowledge about them whatsoever. At least he lent Hedwig to Hermione so she could send a letter in order to ask Fred.

Fred's reply arrived Tuesday morning. He wrote that his knowledge about girls' nights was limited to the fantasy apparently every guy had about girls having pillow fights in skimpy lingerie. Although that explained Harry's embarrassed reaction two days earlier, it did little in helping Hermione prepare for Wednesday. Fred concluded his letter with the vague assumption that there might be chocolate involved and a not so subtle reminder that his birthday was in April and, in the unlikely yet desirable event that his fantasies would become reality and Hermione was indeed having pillow fights whilst wearing skimpy lingerie, pictures would always be welcome.

Help arrived in the unexpected form of Dobby. Having made a trip to the kitchen to score some extra chocolate just in case, Hermione was flabbergasted to learn that Dobby had a vast knowledge of girls' night etiquette. Hermione didn't dare ask whether Dobby had acquired said knowledge at Hogwarts or during his time in the employment of the Malfoys, but nevertheless was glad to learn that there was no skimpy lingerie required. On the contrary, any clothes would do just as long as they were comfortable (Fred would be disappointed). Dobby also promised to prepare the necessary food and assured Hermione that all she really had to do was show up.

So it came that with a little trepidation but resolutely drawing on her Gryffindor courage, Hermione entered the 7th year girls' dormitory on Wednesday evening. To her utmost surprise the night proved to be pleasant enough. Dobby had provided a feast of junk food and Parvati and Lavender had brought out every copy of_Witch Weekly_ and several other magazines they owned. With combined strength the three witches successfully changed Hermione's orange dress into a beautiful snow-white wedding gown. Amongst Lavender and Parvati's extensive library of glossy magazines there also were several shopping catalogues where Hermione ordered shoes and accessories for her outfit.

Hermione would have rather eaten a bucket full of Bubotuber Pus than admit it, but the girl's night in had turned out to be productive as well as fun. Plus, she was all set for the wedding.

tbc

a/n: There we go. Thanks for reading this chapter. Please be so kind and review.

Thanks go to my lovely betas Katia and Joey and to everyone who reviewed the previous chapters.

Just in case anyone is interested, I wrote a short and very fluffy Ron/Hermione ficlet. You can read it either here at or on my lj.

_Next Chapter:_ dum dum dee-dum…the wedding (finally).


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: JKR owns everything, and I don't make any money with this story

Disclaimer: JKR owns everything, and I don't make any money with this story. The idea of the Marriage Law originated at wiktt, I believe. I'm just borrowing...

a/n: This story is AU since DH.

_**Magnetic Moment**_

**Chapter 15**

On Friday, the 20th of February, Hermione awoke hours before dawn, which was quite unnecessary since she was excused for classes, and therefore, had all day to prepare herself for her wedding. Nevertheless, she was unable to return to sleep, lying in her bed instead, listening to her roommates' even breaths.

When it was time for Lavender and Parvati to get up, Hermione faked sleep so they wouldn't talk to her. Her relationship to Lavender and Parvati had vastly improved since the evening they helped her dye the dress, although one perhaps might say that the two girls still needed to learn a thing or two about discretion and appropriate questions. Nevertheless, Hermione wanted those few hours in the morning to herself.

Once Parvati and Lavender had left for breakfast and then classes, Hermione got out of bed and shuffled into the bathroom. Treating herself to a leisurely bath, she tried to picture the day ahead. Fred and she had agreed that they would have only a very small ceremony. Since it was unlikely that their family members would attend the wedding, both felt that inviting all their friends would make the absence of their relatives even more noticeable. That's why they had only asked Harry and George to come, not that an invitation had been necessary in their cases. Both boys had been very adamant about the fact that nothing could keep them away.

Hermione took her time to get ready. Usually not prone to doing all the girly things or dolling herself up, Hermione found that just like for the Yule ball, she didn't mind being a girl for this special occasion. She was using her wand to dry her clear nail polish when exactly five minutes after the end of morning classes Lavender and Parvati invaded the dormitory.

"Oh my God, there you are," Lavender squealed the second she entered their bedroom.

"Are you excited?" Parvati asked, running over to the bed where Hermione was sitting and showing signs of wanting to hug her. Hermione quickly pointed to her half dry nails and Parvati thankfully stopped dead in her tracks.

"We'll help you get ready for your big day!" Lavender proclaimed.

"Don't you have classes?" Hermione asked hopefully, but her question was ruthlessly ignored as both girls were digging through their trunks unearthing enough make-up and jewellery to stock a small boutique.

"Don't be ridiculous. This is more important," Lavender finally replied, though her voice was muffled since she was digging out Witch Weekly magazines from under her bed at the same time. Having apparently found the magazine she was looking for, Lavender came over to Hermione leafing through the glossy pages. "I saw a hairdo in here which would go lovely with you dress."

She showed the magazine to Hermione, who was revolted to see an unnaturally skinny woman wearing her hair in what could only be described as a Pebbles Flintstone look, though instead of using bones her hair was held in place on top of her head by two gigantic clips resembling pink lollipops, which were clashing horrible with skinny woman's reddish hair.

"You've got to be kidding me," Hermione replied weakly.

"I am, actually," Lavender grinned. "I meant this hairdo," she said pointing to the opposite page of the magazine. Prepared for the worst, Hermione was pleasantly surprised to see a rather beautiful woman, whose long hair hung past her shoulders. The brunette tresses were mostly straightened out with some natural curls to them.

"The hair looks… natural," Hermione said in surprise.

"I thought that's what you were going for?" Lavender asked, and Hermione was quick to assure her that she was right.

"Are you sure that you can get my hair to look this tidy and straight?" she asked doubtfully.

"Don't you worry," Lavender assured her. "When I'm done with you, your hair will look all neat and shiny and nothing will be able to muss it up."

While Lavender got started on Hermione's hair, Parvati came over with a collection of the make-up to discuss colours with the bride. Hermione was touched that Parvati as well had taken her wishes to heart and didn't even suggest colour creations like hot pink or smouldering red. Instead, she restricted herself to nude colours, only enhancing Hermione's natural features.

By the time her roommates were done with her and Hermione had put on her wedding dress, she wasn't able to recognise the woman looking back at her from the other side of the mirror.

"Look at you!" Lavender gushed, and Parvati was tapping her eyes with her handkerchief.

Hermione thanked both of them and meant to go downstairs to meet Harry.

"Not so fast," Lavender stopped her. "You're not ready yet."

"I'm not?" Hermione asked a bit confused, but quieted when Parvati held out a bracelet for her. Hermione immediately recognized it as Parvati's favourite since the girl wore it every day.

"Something borrowed," Parvati explained.

"And something new," Lavender added, handing Hermione a white gift bag. "It's from the both of us." Both her roommates looked at Hermione expectantly. Hermione opened the gift bag and found a small white purse, which matched her dress perfectly.

"This way you don't have to take this ugly bag," Parvati proclaimed, indicating the duffel bag where Hermione had stuffed in the things she would need for the next few days. Professor McGonagall had granted her a leave until Sunday and Fred and Hermione planned to spend their rather short Honeymoon together at the flat above the shop.

Hermione eyed the small handbag and the bulgy duffel sceptically. "That's never going to fit." Though she was proven wrong instantaneously when Parvati stuffed the whole duffel bag inside the considerably smaller handbag. Magic did have its advantages.

"One last thing," Lavender announced, holding up a light blue, lacy garter.

"Oh no no no!" Hermione unsuccessfully tried to fend off her excited roommate. Seconds later she was treated to the rather bizarre experience of having another girl crawl underneath her skirt, as Lavender took it upon herself to put the garter in place.

"Muggles have some great traditions," Lavender said once she had reappeared from underneath Hermione's dress.

"Witches don't wear something old, new, borrowed and blue?" Hermione asked, looking once again into the mirror as if to check if anyone would be able to guess she was wearing a blue garter underneath her floor length dress.

"No, but we heard some Gryffindors in the year below us talk about it and since it's for luck we thought it'd be a nice thing to do."

"Thanks girls," Hermione said and if she'd been entirely honest, she'd have admitted how truly touched she was. "But I still don't have something old," she suddenly remembered.

"Don't worry. Harry's got that covered," Lavender assured her, while Parvati fussed around Hermione's hair, doing some last minute corrections.

Finally, Parvati and Lavender proclaimed her ready to go, and Hermione hastily grabbed her things and left their dorm. On her way down the stairs she met Ginny. The younger girl stopped upon seeing Hermione in her wedding gown. Hermione hesitated briefly, but then walked on, intending to walk right past Ginny. But a gentle hand on her shoulder stopped Hermione and, curious, she turned back around to face her former friend.

Ginny was refusing to meet her eyes, but mumbled quietly, "You look very beautiful, Hermione."

Hermione was taken aback, but nevertheless took another step towards Ginny. "Ginny… I'd really like…"

"Oi, Hermione, we need to leave," Harry shouted at that moment from the base of the stairs. He had one foot on the lowest step, but didn't dare continue for fear the stairs would turn into slides again. Ginny gave one quick look down the stairs and then turned around and ran upwards without another word. Hermione looked after her, a sad look crossing her features briefly, and then she collected herself and went to meet Harry.

"There's no need to shout, Harry Potter. I know perfectly well what time it is. Besides, I would have been ready ages ago, but I was held hostage by the pink terrors," she said primly once she reached him.

"Blimey, Hermione, you look pretty," Harry said, which perhaps wasn't the most eloquent compliment, but heartfelt for sure.

"You clean up very nicely yourself," Hermione replied, taking a look at Harry's dark suit. Hermione had asked Harry and the twins to wear Muggle suits instead of the traditional dress robes. While for obvious reason none of her Muggle relatives would be at the wedding, Hermione wanted at least to be able to show them the pictures one day without having to answer awkward questions about the attire of her groom and the wedding party.

Assuming, of course, the fight with her parents would one day be dissolved, and they would want to see the pictures of their only daughters' wedding. Fred alone knew how many nights Hermione had spend crying over the fact that she couldn't even invite her own parents to her wedding. Well, she could have invited them, but considering that they had been less than favourable of her relationship to Fred a mere two months ago, Hermione very much doubted they would support their decision to get married. In all likelihood their reaction would have been even worse than that of Fred's parents, and to be completely honest, Hermione didn't think she could have taken another fight with her parents.

So, she had accepted that her parents would not be there on this special day. But she could not bring herself to believe that they wouldn't be there for her ever again, which was the reason why she held on to the fantasy that one day she would show them and her other relatives the pictures; and they would be proud of her.

Harry cleared his throat sheepishly and Hermione was shaken from her sad thoughts.

"I've got something for you." Harry handed Hermione a tiny jewellery box. "Didn't have time to wrap it." He blushed slightly.

Hermione carefully opened the box to find two tiny diamond studs.

"Oh, Harry!"

"My mum is wearing them on her wedding picture as well," Harry rambled. "I thought, since you are like a sister to me… and Lavender said you need something old… asked Bill to get them from my vault…" Hermione rose to her toes and kissed Harry on the cheek.

"Thank you. It means a lot," she said simply, and Harry knew she meant it.

Putting on the earrings, Hermione then took Harry's arm, and together they left Gryffindor tower. They were to Floo right to the Ministry, using the Headmistress' fire place.

On their way to the office, Hermione and Harry passed several students who all stopped and stared at them. While Hermione wasn't the first to get married because of the law, in fact a couple of Hufflepuffs were tying the knot that very same day as well, having a bride walk along the corridors of Hogwarts was still a rather spectacular occurrence.

Halfway towards Professor McGonagall Harry and Hermione ran into a group of Slytherins, Pansy Parkinson being the most prominent member of Salazar's house among them. But even Pansy seemed unable to find an insult for Hermione when she saw the Gryffindor in her wedding gown, marking the second time in Hermione's career at Hogwarts where her appearance in a formal gown rendered a Slytherin speechless. Smiling brightly at Pansy, to the other girls' utmost displeasure, Hermione strode past them with her head held high wondering if in the interest of house unity she should dress up more often.

Professor McGonagall was already waiting for them. She briefly complemented Hermione on her dress before lunging into a lecture regarding all the safety protocols that they were about to breach. Professor McGonagall had been completely dismayed when she had been informed that Harry intended to accompany Hermione to her wedding at the Ministry as well as to the reception, which was to be held in a restaurant at Diurnal Road.

Harry, however, could not be deterred. The Headmistress had finally relented, mostly because Harry had informed her that he was in fact of age and she had no authority to forbid him to attend his best friends wedding.

Hermione on the other side had been anxious when she realised that Harry might possibly be exposed to a Death Eater attack because of her. Though unwilling to have her best friend miss her wedding, especially since he was going to be the only one there, Hermione had surprised both Harry and the Headmistress with coming up with a way to keep everybody safe. Harry was supposed to carry a Portkey with him during the wedding, which could be activated at any time.

Although Professor McGonagall was slightly hesitant to create an unauthorised Portkey, especially one that Harry would be taking with him right into the Ministry, she had to agree that this was the easiest way to keep Harry save.

Handing Harry a sherbet lemon, which she apparently deemed as unobtrusive for Harry to carry around in the pocket of his suit, Professor McGonagall therefore instructed Harry to use the Portkey as soon as something unforeseen happened. As an afterthought she added that Harry be very careful not to accidentally eat the Portkey. Visibly worried the Professor then wished Hermione good luck, cast an Impertuable charm on her dress to protect it from the ashes, and handed the jar with the Floo powder to both students.

Harry and Hermione Flooed into the Ministry within seconds from each other and Hermione's dress indeed was free of any stains. Taking a hold of Harry's arm, Hermione eagerly stirred them towards the elevators.

"You seem eager to get hitched," Harry remarked, when Hermione pushed the button for the elevator for the third time and huffed impatiently.

"I just don't want to be late," she explained and walked into the lift even before the doors fully opened. Harry followed at a slightly slower place.

"You wouldn't by any chance be nervous?" he asked as the doors slid close behind him.

Hermione shook her head, but the way she was gnawing at her bottom lip told Harry the truth anyways. He refrained from mentioning so.

When the elevator reached the floor the courtrooms for civil procedures were on, Hermione once again took Harry's arm, this time though, she seemed to want to hold on to him rather than drag him along. Harry covered Hermione's hand, which had a death grip on the bend of his arm, with his free hand and was just about to tell her that there was no reason to be nervous when he spotted Percy Weasley standing in front of the exact room they were heading towards.

"What are you doing here?" Harry asked him before Hermione had the chance.

Percy puffed out his chest importantly and replied in what must be his most snotty voice, "I'm here to assist the head registrar with the proceedings of this most imprudent matter."

"What do you mean imprudent?" Harry inquired angrily. "The whole marriage law business was your folks' own idea."

Percy showed all signs of wanting to argue that point with Harry, but Hermione had reached the end of her patience and intervened.

"I'm sure the registrar wouldn't want to be kept waiting any longer than absolutely necessary," she interrupted sweetly.

Her words worked like a charm, and Percy immediately lost all interest in arguing with Harry, but instead informed them that he would go inside where everyone else was already waiting. Harry and Hermione were to enter when they would hear the music.

Percy left in a hurry and Harry glared after him. "I can't believe Umbridge is going to be the one to conduct the wedding," he bid out once the doors had closed behind Percy.

"I expected as much," Hermione admitted. "I don't suppose she'd want to miss out on an opportunity to make life miserable for all of us."

"Great," Harry grumbled. But then they already heard the faint sounds of an organ and the door in front of them swung open.

Hermione gripped Harry's arm tighter than ever, and together they slowly made their way down the aisle towards Umbridge, Percy, George and Fred. Hermione took little notice of her surroundings as she walked towards her very soon to be husband. Fred likewise seemed to only have eyes for his bride as she slowly came nearer.

"Tut, tut," Umbridge voiced her disapproval of Hermione's wedding gown even before the girl had come to a stand besides the groom. Hermione didn't notice since Fred told her what he thought of her dress at the same time, and his opinion turned out to be infinitely more approving.

Seeing that she was mostly being ignored, safe for Harry who shot her an angry look, Umbridge took hold of an old and rather big book and began to read, "We are gathered here today to celebrate…" Though her tone suggested that she was reading the obituaries in the Daily Prophet rather than a wedding sermon, Umbridge was unable to wipe the smiles from the faces of the bride and groom.

As a matter of fact, Harry seriously doubted whether Hermione and Fred heard a single word of Umbridge's rather winded speech about chastity and what she thought was proper conduct in a wizarding marriage. Harry himself was looking at his watches repeatedly, counting the seconds while only catching every third word or so of Umbridge's dull voice. George seemed to pass the time by glaring menacingly at Percy, who in return was trying to look even more important, but in reality was standing around quite uselessly.

When Umbridge reached that part in her speech, where she asked for any objections regarding the bonding of Fred and Hermione, Harry abandoned his task of counting the seconds and joined George in glaring at Percy. Percy very much looked like he would love to object, but didn't dare so out of fear both Harry and George would hex him. Which they would have done. _Gladly_.

Hermione and Fred missed the exchange altogether, since they were still busy staring at each other, a fact that George would tease Fred with for decades to come. Unfortunately, the couple was engrossed with each other to such a degree that they missed the beginning of the vows as well. Even a rather indignant "Hmm, hmm," from Umbridge couldn't faze them.

Luckily, George regarded his duties as best man very seriously and took it upon himself to catch the attention of the groom. By the means of a well aimed kick at Fred's ankle.

Fred yelped, glared rather angrily at his brother, but then redirected his attention towards Umbridge, who in turn very angrily repeated, "Do you, Frederick Gideon, take Hermione Jean…"

Moments later Umbridge declared Fred and Hermione bonded for life and the wedding ceremony was over. Fred leaned forward to kiss his wife for the first time as a shower of silver stars erupted from Umbridge's wand, engulfing the bride and groom.

Both George and Harry congratulated the newlywed couple, and the wedding party moved merrily chatting back up the aisle. Nobody paid any mind to Umbridge or Percy, who both looked rather taken aback that all their efforts to spoil the wedding seemed to have been for naught.

Halfway to the doors, Fred was hid in the back by what felt like a load of tiny stones. He wheeled around, wand at the ready, only to see a second load of tiny white stones coming at him. The culprit soon turned out to be George, who was grinning madly, and the stones didn't seem to be stones after all. As Fred was shaking the grains of his suit he realised that his brother was throwing rice at him.

"George, what the...?"

"It's a Muggle tradition," George explained, while he continued to throw rice in the air. Fred helplessly looked towards Harry and Hermione who, judging by their smiles, didn't seem to mind being showered in rice so much. Fred wisely refrained from pointing out that Muggles were very obviously crazy. George seemed to enjoy himself immensely.

"George, are you aiming the rice at my cleavage?" Hermione asked exasperatedly.

"Why, did I miss?" George asked innocently, dumping the rest of the bag over Harry's head.

"Not me, you idiot." Harry tried to fend the twin off. "You're supposed to shower the bride and groom."

"Sorry, my bad."

At this point, Umbridge was heading towards them, angry red dots marring her toad like face. Quite obviously she did not approve of the pollution of her beloved Ministry, even if it was in the name of tradition. Leaving a mess of rice behind, Fred, George, Hermione, and Harry quickly left the room and ran for the public entrance of the Ministry.

* * *

The reception was being held at a restaurant at Diurnal Road where a waiter led them towards a semi-private parlour. Before they sat down to eat a delicious meal, George, in his capacity of best man, held a speech, which turned out to be very much an eulogy of Fred's bachelorhood and contained a lot more information regarding his ex-girlfriends then Fred was comfortable with. Hermione on the other hand found the speech to be very informative. Harry, to everyone's relief, just restricted himself to whishing Hermione and Fred the best of luck.

After the cake Hermione excused herself to go to the ladies room, and Harry used her absence to have a quick talk with Fred.

"Just wanted you to know, mate, if you ever hurt her I'm going to kill you. And don't think it will be something quick and painless like Avada Kedavra."

George looked up from his third piece of wedding cake, clearly unsure whether this was a situation he should defuse from the start or just let progress naturally.

But Fred seemed to have expected this much from Harry and good naturally replied, "Harry, Harry, should I ever do something stupid like cheat on Hermione or hurt her in any other way, there's going to be exactly one person I'll be afraid of."

"Hermione?"

"You betcha'."

"Right," Harry said. "Just checking."

Fred nodded.

"Do you guys remember what she did to Ron during sixth year when he was dating that Lila girl?" George suddenly asked.

"Lavender," Harry corrected and grinned. "Send a flock of birds after him, if I recall correctly."

"Yeah," George said. "I think he's still got scars from that one."

"You should have been there when she hit Malfoy in third year. Mind you, that wasn't a girly slap, she used…"

"Mates!" Fred interrupted. "I get it. No hurting Hermione. Let's change the topic."

When Hermione returned shortly afterwards, the three guys had already moved on to discussing the new defence strategy of the Cannons, and the rest of the wedding celebration commenced without any subtle or blatant threats directed at the groom.

* * *

It was late in the night or rather early in the morning when the wedding party realised that they were the only ones left at the restaurant and that the waiter was glaring tiredly at them. They ordered one last round and sipped their drinks merrily until they took pity at the staff and decided to go. Just when they were about to get up and leave Hermione stopped them.

"Wait, I have to throw my bouquet."

"Hermione, dear, there are no women here to catch it," Fred explained, in a voice one might use to speak to a small child.

"I don't care. It's my wedding. I am the bride. I have to throw my bouquet." Hermione replied stubbornly, crossing her arms in front of her chest and very much conveying the impression that she would remain sitting at their table until she got to throw the bouquet.

"You heard her guys, line up for the catch," Fred announced.

"Do we look like girls to you?"

"But…" George and Harry started to complain.

"Hey, it's not our fault neither of you managed to scrunch up a date for the wedding," Fred said, retaking his seat beside his bride and crossing his arms just as she did. "So we can either sit here and debate the reasons why you are both so pitifully dateless or you guys catch the damn bouquet and we can get going." Hermione nodded her approval.

Realising that there was no arguing with either of them, Harry and George grudgingly got up from their table and lined up to catch the bouquet. Happy, Hermione stood up as well, turned around, and threw the flowers over her shoulder.

"I got it…"

"No, I got it."

Harry and George both had their hands on the bouquet and were tugging.

"Guys, you realize whoever catches the bride's bouquet is the next to get married, right?" Fred, the only one who had remained seated, was almost falling off his chair, he was laughing so hard.

George and Harry paused a second to contemplate Fred's words, then, "There you go, you caught it…" George tried to shove the flowers towards Harry.

"No, you take it." Harry shoved back.

"Don't be ridiculous, Potter. You're the seeker, you caught the flowers."

"Seekers catch Snitches, not bridal bouquets, you idiot."

"Still, I insist."

At that point Fred and Hermione were leaning against another, supporting each other while tears of laughter ran down their faces. In the end, George took the bouquet because Harry insisted he couldn't return to the Gryffindor boys' dorm room with a bunch of flowers and the only one he would give it to was George and Fred's sister. That was enough to convince George.

So Hermione tugged one daisy out of the bouquet, to keep for memories sake, and George resolved to take the rest of the flowers with him to Lee Jordan's, where he had promised to stay for the weekend and not return to his and Fred's flat save for live threatening situations, which could absolutely not be dealt with without Fred's assistance (Fred had insisted).

By then the waiter and the barman had started putting up the chairs on the tables with a bit more noise than was strictly necessary. Taking this as their final cue to leave, Harry, George, Fred and Hermione gathered their things. On their way out the overly tired waiter was appeased by a rather generous tip, and without further delay the small wedding party left the restaurant.

The quartet walked along Diurnal Road, crossed Knockturne Alley quickly and entered Diagon Alley. Suddenly George started.

"Merlin, we forgot something very important."

"Did you leave something at the restaurant?" Harry asked. "Should we go back?"

"No, no, I didn't leave anything. We forgot the wedding dance. You have to have a wedding dance." George had stopped walking altogether and was standing in the middle of Diagon Alley looking at the others expectantly.

"I can't believe we forgot our first dance," Hermione chimed in and she did look a bit disappointed.

"Ah, love, I'm sorry. But we can just go out tomorrow. It'll still be our first dance as a couple then," Fred tried to console his wife.

"Nooo, that won't be the same," George cried, which earned him a rather angry look from his twin.

"You have to have the dance right now!" George continued unfazed.

Harry, who had been afraid George would suggest this, tried to best to nip this insane idea in the bud. "George, be reasonable. Hermione and I had to promise McGonagall to go straight home. Besides, there's no music here."

"Doesn't matter," George replied, jumping up and down for excitement. "You and I will sing."

Harry's eyes widened in alarm and he shook his head vehemently. "I don't sing!"

But it was already too late. George seemed completely taken by his idea, and Fred was rapidly warming up to it as well. Hermione seemed to be torn between being responsible and having a first dance at her actual wedding.

Harry realised that a change of tactics was in order.

"I don't know any wizarding songs."

"You don't?" George stopped the bouncing for a second to deliberate this unforeseen complication. "You telling me that you've spend almost 7 years at Hogwarts and haven't learned a single song?"

"At least none that would be appropriate for a wedding," Harry confirmed and with a slightly more confident grin he added, "And I doubt you know any Muggle love songs."

George's face fell. "That's true." But only seconds later his face brightened again and he resumed his excited bouncing.

"I know a love song we all know," he shouted.

"Keep it down, would you," Harry tried to reason. "It's the middle of the night. You'll wake people up. And I told you, I don't know…"

"Mum and Dad's song!" George interrupted. "You can't tell me you don't know the words to that one. Mum's only been playing it around the Burrow every single Christmas."

"Errr," Harry had the sinking feeling he was loosing a battle. He tried to look around for any help, but all he saw were Hermione and Fred who were just taking a dance position. 'Where are those pesky Death Eaters if you needed them?' Harry thought irritably. 'Weren't they supposed to be after him and all?' But Diagon Alley was completely deserted, which wasn't all that surprising, considering that it was well after 2am.

Before Harry had the change to come up with another excuse or possibly a way to alert Voldemort to his being completely unprotected in Diagon Alley, George was counting them in.

"And 5, and 6, and 5, 6, 7, 8!"

_Oh, come and stir my cauldron,_

George had his right arm slung around Harry's shoulders, while he held the flowers with his left hand, singing into the bouquet like it was a microphone.

_And if you do it right,_

Fred and Hermione meanwhile were waltzing through the street, their steps reverberating on the cobblestone.

_I'll boil you up some hot, strong love_

Upon the twin's urging Harry reluctantly joined George's singing, infinitely glad that his softly sung words were mostly drowned out by the twin's plangent baritone.

_To keep you warm tonight._

"What in Merlin name is this noise?! People are trying to sleep." A window had opened above Madam Malkin's shop and an angry looking wizard with a nightcap was starring down at them. Before either one of the wedding party had a chance to react the wizard pointed his wand at Harry and George and screamed "Aguamenti!" Then he closed the window with a bang.

Fred and Hermione looked at their friends trying their best not to laugh. Harry and George were still standing arm in arm, though they had stopped singing. They were wet from head to toe.

"Can we please go home now?" Harry asked. He untangled himself from George and looked at the twin accusingly. The effect, however, was ruined as his sodden hair kept falling all over his glasses, making Harry look rather ridiculous.

This was too much for George and he burst out laughing. Fred and Hermione quickly lost control as well and even Harry couldn't help himself and joined in the laughter.

Only when the angry wizard opened his window again and threatened to call for law enforcement did the four run home. Arriving safely and without law enforcement officers on their tails at the door to WWW, George bade everyone goodnight and jogged on to the Leaky Cauldron from where he would Apparate to Lee Jordan's.

Harry took hold of the sherbet lemon and Portkeyed back to Hogwarts. Professor McGonagall was so relieved to see her most famous and sought after student return alive and in one piece, she didn't even mind the puddle and the wet footprints he left in her office.

As it turned out, George changed his mind once he had Apparated in front of Lee Jordan's doorstep. He Disapparated again, this time to Alicia Spinnet's home. There he waited until his long-time crush, New Year's companion and friend opened the door. He gave the confused girl the slightly battered and sodden flowers saying that he just realized that being the next to settle down wouldn't be that bad after all. Then he left for Lee's again.

Alicia owled him the next day asking whether he wanted to go for a coffee.

_tbc_

* * *

a/n: I'm so sorry that this has taken me so long to post. Truth be told, this chapter turned out to be incredibly hard to write and I'm still not completely satisfied with it. I hope you were still able to enjoy it. I'll do my best to post the remaining chapters (there are only 2 1/2 chapters and the epilogue left) in a more timely manner. Once again, I'm very sorry for the delay.

Thanks go to Joey for doing the beta on the chapter and good luck to Katia for her exams. :)

Reviews are love!

I also made Fred and Hermione's wedding picture, which you can find at my lj (link is in the profil).


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: JKR owns everything, and I don't make any money with this story. The idea of the Marriage Law originated at wiktt, I believe. I'm just borrowing...

a/n: This story is AU since DH.

Also, this chapter is the reason why this story is rated R. It's the wedding night, everyone, so consider yourself warned.

_**Magnetic Moment**_

**Chapter 16**

Fred and Hermione watched Harry disappear and George jog down the path towards the Leaky Cauldron. Then they turned towards the door of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, and Fred took down the complex wards the twins had installed to protect their shop. He ushered Hermione through the door and once they were safely inside rewarded the entrance.

Hermione stood at his side, silently admiring her new husband's efficient wandwork. Once Fred was done, she linked her hand with his, and together they made their way through the shop and up the stairs towards the twin's flat.

When they reached the door, Fred stopped.

"I'll have to carry you over the threshold," he announced to an incredulous Hermione.

"Fred, we're on top of a very narrow staircase," she protested. "We'll fall down."

But Fred ignored her objections and quickly swept her off her feet before she could thwart him. There they stood, on top of the stairs, in front of the door.

"Brilliant, Fred," Hermione announced sarcastically, holding on to his neck tightly and trying not to look all the way down the stairs. "And how do you think are we going to get through the _closed_ door?"

"Er," Fred faltered briefly, "do you think you can reach the handle?" He leaned down slightly, lowering Hermione towards the door. The couple swayed precariously, and Hermione already saw them tumbling down the stairs. Extending one slightly trembling hand, she reached for the door handle, maintaining a firm grip around Fred's neck with the other arm.

She could just reach the handle and pushed it down. However, the door only seemed to open a few inches and then it was stuck.

"I don't think this is going to work," Hermione said. "You better put me down."

"Ah, love. Don't be so negative," Fred replied, before turning around on the front step, so that his back was towards the door. Hermione closed her eyes. It would be a long fall down. Fred pushed against the door with his back, trying to get it to open. Slowly, the door was giving way, and Fred shoved into the apartment backwards.

Glad to finally be away from the stairs, Hermione looked over Fred's shoulder to see what had jarred the door. Her eyes widened in surprise.

"Um, Fred?" she asked tentatively. "Did George and you redecorate?"

"Why?" Fred asked, finally putting his wife back on her feet before turning around. He gaped in surprise. The whole hallway was filled with heart-shaped balloons in every size and colour. It was no wonder the door wouldn't open. There was only a small space between the door and the balloons in which Hermione and Fred stood. Some of the balloons were already drifting past them and down the staircase, as if they were feeling crowded.

"I take it the balloons weren't there when you left?" Hermione asked smiling.

"No, I'm pretty sure I would have noticed that," Fred replied, grinning. "George must have done it," he speculated. "Though I'm not sure how. He was with me the whole time."

Hermione shrugged. "Don't ask me. You're the practical joke expert."

Fred only laughed. The couple watched the balloons for a while. They were slowly drifting up and down in between floor and ceiling, though there was not much room for the balloons to manoeuvre because there were just too many of them in the comparatively small hallway.

"Well, they are pretty and all," Hermione stated. "But how are we supposed to get past them?"

"Haven't you learned anything in DADA?" Fred teased, taking his wand out gleefully. "A simple Reductor Curse should do it." He aimed for the first balloon, a pale blue heart, just eyelevel to him.

"Wait." Hermione pulled his arm back before he could cast the spell. "Silencing spells first. Otherwise your neighbours will think Diagon Alley is under attack." She took out her own wand and said the incantation.

"_Our_ neighbours," Fred corrected when she was done.

"Huh?" Hermione looked at him questioningly.

"Our neighbours," Fred repeated. "You live here, too, now. Don't you?"

"You're right," Hermione agreed, leaning forward and giving him a brief peck on the lips. "Well, _our_ neighbours are all protected now. Fire away."

Fred immediately pointed his wand at the blue balloon again and shouted, "Reducto!" The balloon exploded, showering the newlyweds into a cloud of blue, heart-shaped confetti. Hermione looked down at her wedding dress, which was covered in pale blue paper hearts.

"Well, it certainly looks like George put a lot of effort into this," she remarked lightly.

Fred laughed, letting another balloon explode and causing them to be showered in another burst of confetti—pink this time. "You just wait until he gets married," Fred promised.

Together the couple bombed their way down the corridor. By the time they had reached Fred's bedroom, they were standing ankle-deep in confetti and laughing hysterically. There was a heart-shaped piece of paper pinned to the bedroom door.

"I let George and Lee have fun in the corridor," Fred read out loud. "However, the bedroom is my work. Enjoy, Angelina."

Fred shook his head. "So that's how he did it. He had accomplices."

Hermione was eying the bedroom door sceptically. "What do you think she's done to the room?" she asked Fred.

"Only one way to find out." Fred threw the door open.

Nothing happened.

The room was almost dark, only the light from the corridor illuminating it. It seemed unchanged.

Carefully, Fred walked forward. The second he set foot into the bedroom, hundreds of small candles appeared, floating in midair, casting the room in a soft glow.

"How nice."

Hermione followed Fred. Once she had fully entered the room, the door magically closed behind her. Now that the room was lit in candlelight, Fred and Hermione could see that the bed was covered in rose petals and that a bottle of wine and two glasses stood on the bedside table. Quiet music had begun to play in the background.

"Wow, she didn't leave anything out, did she?" Fred remarked, turning towards Hermione. Hermione looked around the room appreciatively.

"No, it's perfect."

"It is," Fred agreed, looking at Hermione. He reached forward, gently wiping a few yellow and blue confetti hearts from her forehead, then resting his hand on her cheek. Hermione leaned into his touch. Fred closed his free hand around her waist, pulling her towards him.

"Did you ever think we would feel like this?" Hermione asked quietly.

Fred shook his head. "Not in a million years." He lowered his head and kissed his bride.

Hermione returned the kiss, snaking her hands around Fred's neck to pull him closer to her. The sweet kiss soon turned into more, as their movements became more urgent and frantic. Hermione took one small, reluctant step back, wedging her hands between their bodies and undoing the buttons of Fred's jacket with deft fingers. Once she had them all open, Fred shrugged out of it and pulled Hermione back against his chest, letting his own hands roam freely over her body.

"Merlin, I need you, Hermione," Fred whispered breathlessly against Hermione's lips. Her answer was to pull desperately at his dress shirt, ripping off rather than undoing the buttons there. The shirt was discarded carelessly on the floor, where it was joined by Fred's tie soon after. Hermione let her hands travel over Fred's naked chest, feeling rather than seeing him shudder underneath her hot touch.

Breaking their kiss, Fred stepped around her and slowly untied the back of her dress, being careful to kiss every newly exposed inch of skin along the way. By the time he was finished, Hermione was shivering in anticipation. Letting go of Hermione's wedding gown, Fred let it fall down, leaving Hermione standing only in her heels and knickers before him. Fred swallowed.

Growing impatient, Hermione turned around once more, claiming Fred's lips for another searing kiss, clutching at his body. When his lungs were burning due to the lack of oxygen, Fred broke their kiss. Falling to his knees in front of Hermione, he slowly reached for one foot undoing the clasp of her heel and taking the shoe off. He repeated the process with her other foot, but was in no hurry to get up after he was done.

Letting his hands wander along Hermione's legs, Fred enjoyed the smooth feel of her skin beneath his fingers. Once he reached the lacy, blue garter Lavender had given Hermione that morning, he paused. Locking up to her face, he cocked an eyebrow at her.

"Blue?" Fred asked, snaking one finger underneath the elastic of the garter and pulling slightly.

"Muggle tradition," Hermione explained breathlessly. She was gripping Fred's shoulders tightly to keep from falling. Fred let the garter snap back in place and then traced its outlines with his tongue.

"Muggles wear blue garters for their wedding?" he asked, and Hermione could feel his breath against the inside of her thigh. All of a sudden, she had problems articulating the answer to his question.

"Just something blue," Hermione choked out while Fred sucked hard at the tender skin just above the garter. "Doesn't have to be a garter."

"Why?" Fred asked, smoothing his tongue over the mark he had just left on Hermione's thigh.

"Because…" Hermione began, but trailed off when Fred moved higher and started to gently nip the skin just below her knickers. Hermione held her breath.

Fred paused. "Because?" he prompted, smirking up at Hermione. Hermione had the distinct impression that he liked seeing her too breathless to supply a proper explanation. This would not do. Trying hard to ignore the feeling of his tongue on her upper thigh and his hands on her arse, Hermione sucked in a deep breath. "A bride has to wear something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue," she explained, while all the air escaped her lungs again.

Fred, meanwhile, moved his fingers from her arse to the sides of her knickers and slowly pulled them down. With his mouth mere inches from Hermione's exposed centre, he looked up again.

"But why though?" he asked and Hermione could feel his warm breath on her moist skin. Already concentrating hard on remaining upright, she had trouble formulating an answer in her foggy mind. Fred was waiting—keeping perfectly still.

Hermione felt sweat trickle down her spine. Still gripping Fred's shoulders for balance, she was all too aware of the heat coming off of Fred's body. But Hermione wasn't one to back down from a challenge, and the way Fred was smirking at her showed that he was very much aware of how he was affecting her.

"Each item represents luck in a different way," Hermione finally answered. Seemingly satisfied with her explanation, Fred finally leaned forward. Hitching one of Hermione's legs over his shoulders, he licked the inside of her thigh again. Hermione swayed slightly. Fred moved his mouth towards the middle, hovering just over the spot where she wanted him to touch her most.

Then he pulled away.

"How, though?" He asked, looking up at Hermione and feigning confusion.

"What?" Hermione choked out, her mind having trouble making sense of his words through the lust induced haze.

"How do the different items represent luck?" Fred clarified his question, speaking slowly, as if to a five-year-old. He was smirking again.

Hermione silently vowed to get him back for this.

"The new item is supposed to represent the brides hope for success in her future and a happy marriage," Hermione said, ignoring the breathless quality of her voice. "Lavender and Parvati gave me the new purse for this."

Fred still wasn't moving, so Hermione shakily continued, "The old item—" She broke off. Fred had finally given in, licking her folds, thereby rendering Hermione speechless again. She focused on remaining upright, her head falling back as Fred licked and sucked at her tender flesh.

Hermione moaned in protest when he pulled away again. She looked down in time to see him licking his wet lips, and then he smirked his accursed smirk again.

"The old item?" he asked. Hermione looked at him incredulously. "Or are you giving up?" he asked cheekily.

Hermione was about to answer, but her words turned into a moan when he rubbed one finger over her folds and her clit. She was swaying again. Before Hermione quite realised what he was doing, Fred had straightened up and lifted Hermione into his arms. He crossed the small distance to the bed and dumped Hermione unceremoniously on top of it.

Kicking off his shoes and clothes, Fred joined Hermione on the bed. Spreading her legs wide, he settled in between them, bending down to kiss the inside of her thigh once more. Hermione absentmindedly noted the intoxicating smell of the rose petals as she writhed on the bed. Fred's tongue moved towards her clit again, licking it roughly.

And then he paused once more. Hermione couldn't help but groan.

"You were saying?" Fred politely inquired, looking up at her innocently.

"Continuity," Hermione breathed and Fred resumed his attentions on her clit. "The old item symbolizes the link to the bride's own family. Harry gave me his mother's earrings."

"Something borrowed?" Fred asked. He had one finger positioned at her entrance, teasing, but not giving Hermione what she wanted.

Hermione clutched at the headboard above. Her hips were bucking up, trying to meet Fred's touch, but he pulled one arm over her stomach keeping her in place.

"Support from friends and family. I borrowed Parvati's bracelet," Hermione panted.

Fred eased his finger into her tight channel, all the while sucking at her clit. Hermione was moaning with every laboured breath she took. He added another finger and then a third, pumping them in and out of her in a quick succession. Hermione felt her stomach tighten and her toes curl; her hips were straining against the weight of Fred's arm. She was so close.

And then he stopped again. Hermione froze, hovering right over the edge, but still not quite there. She was breathing hard, her eyes shut tightly.

"I still don't get the blue item," Fred remarked lightly; had Hermione been able to look at his face, though, she would have seen his lust-filled eyes. Fred wasn't nearly as unaffected as he pretended to be. However, he waited patiently while she tried to regain her senses, struggling to come up with an answer to his blasted question.

"Faithfulness and purity, I think," Hermione finally gasped out, squirming underneath Fred's restricting touch.

"You think?" he asked amused, rubbing one wet finger over her thigh, teasing her mercilessly.

"Yes," Hermione moaned. "Please, Fred!"

Hearing her beg finally broke Fred's self-control. Crawling up her body, he positioned himself at her entrance. He waited until Hermione let go of the headboard, wrapping her arms around his back instead, before pushing all the way inside.

They both moaned this time, savouring the intensity of their connection. And then Fred began to move, pushing them both further towards oblivion with each trust. Already too far gone, it didn't take Hermione long to finally take the plunge. Digging her nails into Fred's back she came, shouting his name. Fred soon followed, feeling her spasm around him.

Breathless and sweaty, Fred rolled to the side, taking Hermione with him.

"I'll get you back for that," Hermione promised, eyelids already drooping.

"Don't know what you mean, love," Fred mumbled before sleep claimed them.

* * *

Hermione woke up around noon the next day. She found herself lying on top of Fred, the sheets wrapped tightly around them. Her left hand was lying across Fred's chest and Hermione could see her wedding ring glittering in the sunlight streaming through the window; her other arm was trapped beneath her body and starting to feel quite numb. Still, Hermione was not willing to get up. Instead she laid with her head on Fred's naked chest, listening to his even heartbeat, for once completely relaxed and not thinking about anything in particular.

Fred woke up about half an hour later. Hermione heard the change in his breathing before he started to move underneath her. Reluctantly, she raised her head to look at him.

"Good Morning," she whispered.

"Morning," Fred smiled. Hermione then tried to get up further, only couldn't due to the tight cocoon of blankets that tied her to Fred. Giving up quickly, she settled back down on Fred's chest. She hadn't been ready to get up anyway.

"Ah, love, you know I've got no problem with your habit of using me as a pillow, but I think the bathroom is calling," Fred complained when Hermione remained lying on top of him.

"Sorry, but I'm stuck." Hermione began to wriggle around again, trying to get free.

Fred moved around, too, as far as he could. However, all their efforts seemed only to result in tangling the sheets even tighter around them. Hermione couldn't help herself and started giggling. The situation was just too ridiculous. Fred soon joined her laughter.

"Well, I'm sure George will free us once he gets back on Sunday evening," Fred chuckled.

"Er…" Hermione seemed less reassured with that way of escape. "You can't reach your wand by any chance?" she asked hopefully.

Fred raised his head, as far as their prison of blankets permitted and looked around the room. The remnants of the confetti hearts, the rose petals and the candles had vanished over night and their clothes from the other day were strewn all over the bedroom floor. Fred saw Hermione's wedding dress on the floor and his own trousers draped over the hamper. His wand was nowhere in sight.

"Sorry, no wand," he announced, letting his head sink back onto the pillow.

Not one to give up quickly, Hermione squirmed some more, trying to loosen the sheets around them.

"You could help, you know," she admonished, when Fred remained lying still. Fred, however, had come to realise that his very naked wife was wriggling quite enjoyably on top of him. All thoughts of wanting to leave the bed had already fled his mind. Nevertheless, seeing the exasperated look on Hermione's face, he once more tried to free them. During their struggle for freedom, Fred turned them around somehow so that he was lying on top of Hermione.

"Fred, you're too heavy," Hermione complained, panting.

"Sorry, love. Bloody sheets!" Fred tried to move around further so he would be the one on the back again. Only, his bed was too small. There was one fraction of a second where Fred realised that the mattress underneath him had vanished, and then he landed with a thud on the floor, Hermione on top of him.

"Are you alright?" Hermione asked anxiously.

"Yes. But we're going to buy a bigger bed." Fred groaned. Hermione carefully got up. At least the fall had finally loosened the sheets around them.

"Come on, I think we deserve a hot shower."

Fred, openly enjoying the view, slowly took Hermione's offered hand and let her drag him off the floor. Once upright, the newly wedded couple made their way to the bathroom hand in hand.

_tbc_

a./n.: I hope you enjoyed the chapter. The next one, I'm afraid will take a while because I'll be in Ecuador for a month, and I won't have the time to finish it. In fact, I probably won't even have an internet connection there. However, the chapter is already 2/3 done, so that I feel confident that I'll be able to update once I get back at the end of September.

Meanwhile, it'd be incredibly nice if you'd review this chapter. There really is no greater motivation for a writer than hearing what a reader things about the story.

Thanks for this chapter go to Katia and Joey for the beta and to dynonugget for encouraging me to actually write the wedding night scene.


	17. Chapter 17

Disclaimer: JKR owns everything, and I don't make any money with this story. The idea of the Marriage Law originated at wiktt, I believe. I'm just borrowing...

a/n: This story is AU since DH.

_**Magnetic Moment**_

**Chapter 17**

The shared shower lasted a bit longer than strictly necessary as Fred and Hermione used the opportunity to make the most of their short honeymoon together. Afterwards, they towelled off in between slow kisses. Suddenly, Hermione stopped.

"I totally forgot to give you your wedding present," she announced mortified, and turned around, leaving the bathroom in a hurry. By the time Fred had followed, making a detour to his closet where he got a pair of boxers, Hermione was sitting on the bed wearing his dress shirt from their wedding, and rummaging through her purse.

"I know it's here somewhere," she murmured when Fred joined her on the bed. With difficulty she pulled a flat, rectangular package out of her evening purse. Fred took it from her, carefully removing the white wrapping paper.

Inside was a picture frame, with several empty spaces. The only space filled was the one on the upper left corner. Fred looked at the picture taken at Angelina's New Year's Eve party. Hermione and he were standing on the dance floor, holding each other close. Every once in a while, the picture-Fred would lean down and brush his lips against picture-Hermione's. The photo was labelled 1997.

"I owled Angelina for the picture," Hermione explained quietly. "The empty spaces are for the future New Year's Eves."

Fred didn't say anything at first; he was just looking down at the frame in his hands, which hopefully would be filled with many more pictures over the years to come.

"Do you like it?" Hermione asked worriedly. Fred finally looked up. He put the frame down beside him and reached for Hermione. The kiss that followed was sweet and filled with promise.

"I love it," Fred whispered when they broke apart. "We'll have many years together to fill the frame."

Hermione smiled in agreement. Then she leaned forward again, resuming their kiss. Her hands threaded into his red hair, pulling him even closer. Fred snaked one hand around her hips, pulling Hermione into his lap.

Then Fred suddenly stopped their snogging.

"As nice as this is," he murmured, kissing Hermione's jaw lightly. "Don't you want _your_ present?"

Hermione let go of his hair, holding her hands open in front of him. "Hand it over," she demanded playfully.

Fred reached for the nightstand and procured a small jewellery box from the top drawer. He gave it to Hermione, who opened it carefully. Inside laid a minute pearl, which was on a delicate chain. Taking the necklace out, Hermione examined it against the sunlight.

"It's beautiful," she whispered.

Fred took the necklace out of her hands and laid it around Hermione's neck. Fastening the clasp, he murmured, "It's a protective charm. I figured you could use one after Hogwarts."

"Thank you." Hermione reached for Fred, pulling him close for yet another kiss. One of her hands was clasped tightly around the little pearl dangling from her neck.

"I can feel the magic," Hermione proclaimed, once they finished kissing. Fred took the pearl into his palm. It seemed tiny compared to his hand.

"It's not only charmed for protection," Fred admitted. "The necklace can be turned into a Portkey as well. I thought you might need a way to escape tricky situations when you try to keep Harry and my brother out of trouble. You'll just need to choose a password to activate it."

Hermione stared down at the pearl in wonderment. Even after all those years living as a witch, it never failed to surprise her how something as little as a tiny pearl could be so immensely powerful.

"And where does the Portkey lead to?" Hermione asked.

"To me," Fred said simply.

"Oh, Fred." Hermione leaned forward to kiss him once more.

The moment, however, was ruined as Fred's stomach growled rather loudly. Hermione broke their kiss.

"I guess, you'll want breakfast," she laughed.

"Food would be nice," Fred agreed.

Together they made their way into the kitchen.

"You're not going to burn the toast again, are you?" Hermione teased lightly.

"I'll have you know that I was going to offer to make you pancakes," Fred replied, feigning offence. "Now you can get your own breakfast."

* * *

Fred and Hermione spent the rest of their rather short honeymoon in bed, save for a few more trips to the bathroom and kitchen. By Sunday afternoon, they found that parting had become even more difficult than before, and it was only with great reluctance that Hermione stepped into the fireplace and Floo'ed back to Hogwarts.

Arriving at the Headmistress' office, she was greeted by both Headmistress McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey, who were going over the potions inventory for the infirmary. Both women offered their congratulations, and Hermione thanked them, sharing a brief account of her wedding before heading for Gryffindor tower. There, she found herself the unwilling centre of attention as most of her classmates wanted to congratulate her as well and asked about the wedding. Hermione reluctantly obliged.

Come Monday most interest of her peers had subsided, however, and Hermione was back to focusing on her N.E.W.T.s. She soon discovered that life at Hogwarts didn't change much when one was married; with the notable exception that the teachers called her Mrs. Weasley now, causing Hermione to turn around and look for Ron's mother the first few times it had happened. She eventually got used to it though. Other then that, things had pretty much stayed the same.

Parvati and Lavender had demanded a full account of the wedding, of course. Hermione had actually enjoyed reliving her wedding, showing off the pictures Fred had owled her and telling them all about particulars such as the wedding dance and the cake. Regarding her wedding night, which naturally Parvati and Lavender demanded the details of as well, Hermione just informed Lavender that her hair charm didn't last through everything after all and left the rest to her dormmates' undoubtedly vivid imaginations.

As much fun as Hermione had discussing her wedding with Lavender and Parvati, she couldn't help to wish that it were Ginny and Ron, rather then the two exuberant girls, with whom she was sharing this experience.

Ron still ignored her most of the day, although Hermione had caught him starring at her wistfully a few times. However, she couldn't possibly fathom what was going on in his head and resolved to just wait until he hopefully got over her marrying his brother and they could go back to being friends. She did notice that he was spending more and more time with Parvati lately, which she took as a good sign that he might have gotten over his feelings for her.

Ginny's behaviour these days was even stranger than that of her brother's. She had stopped making any scathing remarks about Hermione and didn't look at her contemptuously anymore either. In fact, she didn't look at Hermione at all and basically turned and ran away when Hermione entered the room. Then again, when she wasn't busy with studying or writing to Fred, Hermione spend most of the time with Harry, so she couldn't be sure if Ginny wasn't just trying to avoid her ex-boyfriend at all costs.

* * *

Two weeks after her wedding, Hermione was sitting on one of the couches in the Gryffindor common room, surrounded by at least a dozen textbooks and several feet of parchment and studying for her N.E.W.T.s, when someone in front of her cleared his throat. Looking up from her papers, she saw Ron, who was holding a rather large and frilly looking white gift bag in his hand and looked rather apprehensively at her.

"You got a minute?" he asked her in a voice that could only be deemed as shy. Surprised, Hermione laid the book she had been reading aside and pushed some of the others away so Ron could sit next to her on the sofa.

"Sure. What did you want?"

Ron took a seat on the couch, nervously fingering the handles of the gift bag, which now rested in his lap.

"Er… you see," he stammered. Hermione looked at him expectantly. She _did not see_, so far.

Ron's ears had turned red and he was looking at the blasted bag in his lap rather than at Hermione. "I'msorryIdidn'tgotoyourwedding," he finally forced out, and Hermione looked at him in amazement.

Seeing as Hermione had yet to start yelling at him for being an unworthy friend and a terrible brother, Ron looked up hopefully and continued, "I know you must be so mad at me. And really, I deserve it. I should have never—"

He didn't get and further because at that point Hermione had jumped up from her spot on the couch and engulfed him in a tight hug. Relieved Ron hugged her back, crushing the gift bag between them.

"Er, so you forgive me?" Ron asked after a while through the bush of brown curls obscuring his face. He could feel Hermione's silent sobs and was quite alarmed to realise she was crying. He tentatively padded her back. Hermione finally released him after a while and wiped the tears from her face.

"I missed you so much," she admitted, and Ron's ears reddened even more.

"I'm so sorry Hermione, I—" Ron started to apologize again, but Hermione stopped him with a wave of her hand.

"It's alright. I'm sorry, too. You shouldn't have had to find out about Fred and me the way you did."

"Truthfully, I doubt I would have reacted much better if you had sat me down and told me," Ron admitted. He was back to staring at the gift bag, which once again sat on his lap, slightly crinkled by now.

"That for me?" Hermione asked, pointing at it. Ron looked up and nodded. He gave Hermione the bag, explaining, "I thought since I wasn't at your wedding I ought to at least get you a gift." And as an afterthought he added, "I didn't know what kind of present one gives at a wedding, so Parvati helped me."

"Explains the frills," Hermione mumbled and Ron grinned, albeit somewhat hesitantly. Carefully she untied the glittering bow that kept the bag shut and peered inside. Inside was— Hermione had no idea what the thing was that was inside the bag, nestled between shiny wrapping tissue with hundreds of pink hearts printed on. It looked like the lovechild of a drill and a melon and was about as big as Hermione's head (minus the hair). The colour of the thing was, of course, Chudley Cannon orange. Hermione looked at Ron questioningly.

"It's a magical mixer," he explained. "Parvati says all newlyweds need one."

"Ah," Hermione said. "Thank you so much." And she meant it. While she wasn't yet sure if she really had the need for a magical mixer or if she should ever let Fred anywhere near it, lest she'd have to renovate the whole kitchen after he was done, she appreciated the gesture nonetheless. Giving Ron another hug, Hermione put the mixer on the floor beside her and looked at Ron hopefully.

"Does that mean we can go back to being friends again," she asked.

"I hope so," Ron replied and received his third hug.

"Thank Merlin."

It wasn't until years later that Ron confessed to Hermione that Harry had sought him out after returning from Fred and Hermione's wedding, punched him and then yelled at him for a good two hours that he was selfish, a lousy friend and an abominable brother. When Hermione had returned from her honeymoon weekend with Fred, Madam Pomfrey had long healed Ron's broken nose, but Harry's accusations had stuck, and Ron had done some serious thinking which ended in the realisation that Harry was right. On all accounts.

Half an hour after Hermione had unwrapped her brand-new, orange mixer, Harry entered the common room and was greeted with the rare sight of his two best friends amiably chatting on one of the couches. As he drew nearer he realised Hermione was telling Ron all about her wedding dance.

When Harry reached the two of them, Ron and Hermione looked up at him.

"So, I see you two finally made up," Harry remarked. Hermione beamed at him while Ron nodded with once again red ears.

"And about sodding time, too!" Harry announced and flopped down beside his two best friends. After pushing the textbook that ha been digging uncomfortably into his back onto the floor, Harry looked at them expectantly. "So what are we talking about?"

"Hermione was just telling me all about your outstanding vocal performance," Ron answered while Hermione giggled. Harry grinned, feeling way too happy to mind the dig at him. Together he and Hermione finished telling Ron the tale of Fred and Hermione's wedding dance, and Ron laughed heartily at George and Harry's involuntary shower.

The trio talked until long into the night, moving from Hermione's wedding to all the engagements and marriages at school to classes. It didn't matter so much what they were talking about, just as long as they were friends again. All three of them.

* * *

Finally reconciled with her second best friend, life at Hogwarts became enjoyable for Hermione once more. Still, she was missing Fred and was very much looking forward to seeing him over the Easter holidays, which she planned on spending at the flat above WWW.

However, with studying for her NEWTs and catching up with Ron to keep her occupied, time flew by faster than Hermione had come to expect for this school year, and before she new it, it was the day before the Easter holidays. As was her habit, Hermione got up early, taking her notes for Ancient Runes with her into the Great Hall for some light reading during breakfast.

Hermione was in the middle of reading an essay about Runespoor when the owls arrived. Putting the essay aside, Hermione grabbed her freshly delivered _Daily Prophet_ instead. She froze when she saw the front page. A huge picture took up the better part of the paper, showing what once were brick houses – now it was only a pile of rubble. An ominous cloud of black smoke obscured the picture, but the Dark Mark could still be seen looming in the sky.

Hermione's breath caught in her throat when she noticed the dented sign of The Leaky Cauldron among the debris. The article accompanying the photograph read:

_**Death Eater**__**s strike Diagon Alley**_

_Terror attack of You-know-Who's Followers destroys historic wizarding street in London._

_At least fifteen wizards and witches have been killed and scores injured after a coordinated attack on London's highly populated Diagon Alley last night. Eyewitnesses claim that the street is completely destroyed._

_The Ministry of Magic at this point withholds any exact description of the attack, leaving the wizarding population in fear of the unknown. However, our very own Rita Skeeter was able to speak with some of the Aurors and Magical Law Enforcement officers at the scene, as well as with a few of those lucky enough to escape the death trap in Diagon Alley. _

"_They came while we were asleep," Georgette Bufford tells our correspondent with tears in her eyes, clutching her husband as if she still feared for their lives. "We could barely Disapparate." Rupert Bufford confirms. _

_The flat of the B__uffords has been completely demolished during the attack, and the family has lost all their possessions. However, they still count themselves lucky because they at least escaped alive and unscathed. Caught unawares in their sleep, many witches and wizards living in Diagon Alley have not been so fortunate. _

_How many were actually injured or killed in this latest act of violence of You-know-Who's followers remains to be seen as the investigation of the Ministry of Magic continues. It seems reasonable though to expect a higher death toll than in any of the Death Eaters previous attacks. _

_A Ministry spokesperson says she was, "deeply shocked," and sends her sympathy to those affected. _

_Head of the Auror office Gawain Robards urges witches and wizards in Britain not to panic, but to stay alert. So far there are no indications that You-Know-Who will strike again soon, says Robards. _

_However, as the clean up efforts of the Ministry of Magic in Diagon Alley continue, rumours about a second wave of attacks have already surfaced. The safety of all witched and wizards in Britain (cont. page 2)_

Hermione let the pages of the Prophet sink to the table.

_tbc_

a/n: This is the second to last chapter of Magnetic Moment. I hope you enjoyed it. Please take the time to review.

Thanks go to my awesome betas Katia and Joey.


	18. Chapter 18

Disclaimer: JKR owns everything, and I don't make any money with this story. The idea of the Marriage Law originated at wiktt, I believe. I'm just borrowing...

a/n: This story is AU since DH.

_**Magnetic Moment**_

**Chapter**** 18**

_Death Eater__s strike Diagon Alley_

Hermione let the pages of the _Prophet_ sink to the table. While reading the article, she had kept a tight grip on the pages, but now she tried to loosen her sweaty hands around them.

_Terror attack of You-__Know-Who's Followers destroys historic wizarding street in London._

Everything was cold, and she was having trouble breathing. She didn't see the other pupils in the Great Hall and wasn't aware of the intense noise that irrupted as more and more people were reading the article. _Diagon Alley completely destroyed._ Staring at the article in front of her, a single thought kept repeating itself in Hermione's head over and over again.

_Please__, let Fred be okay. Please, let Fred be okay. Please, let Fred be okay. _

Hermione didn't know for how long she sat like this. Only when Harry put both of his hands on her shoulders and shook her slightly, did she jerk out of her trance. The noise in the Great Hall came rushing back to her, like someone had suddenly switched the sound back on.

She looked at Harry with big eyes. Harry looked back at her, sympathy evident on his features.

"I'm sure he's okay. The article doesn't say he got hurt," Harry said soothingly.

"The article doesn't say who got hurt. They only talk about high casualty numbers, but they don't mention _one _bloody name," Hermione screeched. Her voice rose to a crescendo until she was almost shouting.

"Hermione, try to calm down," Harry said. He still had a firm grip on her shoulders, afraid to let go of the shaking girl.

"I can't lose him Harry," Hermione whispered, her voice now so soft Harry could barely make out what she had said.

Before Harry could reply, a haggard looking Barn owl landed with a flourish of its wings on the table in front of them. Tied to its leg was a scrap of parchment.

Hermione didn't move. If it was bad news, she didn't want to know.

Realizing Hermione was immobilized by her fear, Harry let go of her and stretched his hands towards the owl. The bird proffered its leg, and Harry unfastened the letter as quickly as he could. He ripped it open and read the short note it contained.

_Hermione,_

_George and I are okay. We got out. We're at Aunt Muriel's now.  
I gotta hurry, there's loads to do. Please tell Ron and Ginny that we didn't get hurt._

_I'll pick you up from the train tomorrow._

_Love,_

_Fred_

"Look," Harry shouted. "Fred's fine!"

Hermione ripped the letter out of his hands and read it for herself. She had one hand clasped tightly to the tiny pearl Fred had given to her for their wedding, the letter was shaking in her other hand, and tears were spilling down her cheeks.

"I thought he was…" Hermione didn't finish her sentence, but Harry knew what she meant anyways.

"He isn't," he assured her.

Hermione looked suddenly up from the letter. "Where's Ron?" Her eyes were searching the table, but he was nowhere in sight. Hermione did spot Ginny, however. She was sitting at the far end of the Gryffindor table, as had become her custom since the Christmas holidays. The youngest Weasley was holding a _Daily Prophet_ in front of her, and even though Hermione was quite a distance away, she could see the deathly white pallor of Ginny's face.

Clutching Fred's letter tightly to her chest, Hermione hurriedly got up from her spot on the table and sprinted down its length to the other end.

"Ginny, they are fine," she shouted breathlessly, as soon as she had reached the other girl. Hermione squeezed in besides her and showed her the letter.

Ginny made no move to take the letter, only stared at Hermione with a desperate look in her eyes.

"They really are okay," Hermione assured the younger girl and gripped Ginny's shoulders just like Harry had gripped hers only moments ago.

"Fred wrote me. He and George got out in time. They are at your Aunt Muriel's house right now. They are fine," Hermione explained. She was worried about Ginny, who was still looking at Hermione with huge eyes. Her whole body was trembling.

"Are you sure?" Ginny finally whispered with a shaky voice.

"Yes!" Hermione immediately assured. She was still holding onto Ginny tightly because it was apparent that this was the only thing holding the younger girl up.

Ginny started to sob uncontrollably. Carefully, Hermione pulled her into a hug. Holding on for dear life, Ginny cried into Hermione's shoulder.

"Shhhhh," Hermione whispered into Ginny's ear. "Everything is going to be alright." Ginny cried and cried, and Hermione kept whispering comforting words to her.

Hermione looked up from the crying Ginny and saw Harry standing close by. He obviously had followed Hermione. Hermione motioned for him to come closer.

"Do you know where Ron is?" she asked Harry in a low voice.

"No," Harry shook his head. "Last time I saw him he was leaving for breakfast with Parvati, but I think they made a little de-tour."

Hermione held up the letter to Harry. "Go find him and give him this. He probably hasn't read the article yet." Harry took the letter from her.

"What about Ginny?" he asked, looking down at his former girlfriend, who was visibly shaking and still sobbing into Hermione's robes.

"I'll take care of her. You just find Ron," Hermione answered, and Harry took off.

Slowly, Hermione got up from the bench, pulling Ginny with her.

"Let's go to Gryffindor Tower." Hermione walked Ginny slowly out of the Hall.

The Great Hall was still loud, and several people were crying. Diagon Alley was a populated area, and there were a lot of flats above the shops. Many pupils knew people who lived in that street or even had family there of their own.

Hermione carefully lead Ginny upstairs towards Gryffindor tower. Ginny didn't even seem to realise where they were going, but continued crying into Hermione's shoulder. Once they reached the tower and went through the Portrait hole, Hermione stirred Ginny towards the couches close to the fire in the common-room. Sitting down with her arms still around Ginny, Hermione let the younger girl cry, all the while whispering words of comfort into her ear.

The common-room was deserted as mostly everyone was down at breakfast at that time, so they were not disturbed. It took some time for Ginny to calm down. Eventually, her tears subsided, and Ginny got out of the embrace.

"Are you alright?" Hermione asked. Her features only portrayed sympathy and worry for the girl in front of her, and no one seeing them would believe that they had just been fighting for the better part of the ongoing year.

"Yes," Ginny whispered, unable to look into Hermione's eyes.

"Are you sure?" The concern was evident in Hermione's voice.

"I thought…" Ginny was still not looking at Hermione, but examining her own hands. "I thought they were dead. The article was so awful."

"But they are not," Hermione interjected. "Fred's letter said they are fine."

"I know! But all I could think was that if Fred had been killed in that raid, he would have died thinking I hate him." Ginny sniffled, but otherwise stayed composed.

"He knows you don't," Hermione tried to assure Ginny.

"How can he **not** think that?" Ginny raised her voice. "I was horrible to him. And to you, Hermione. I am so sorry."

"Ginny, it's okay."

"No, it's not. I should have never… I had no right to treat you that way. I know that now. It's just… it was so hard hearing you were with Fred. Ron was heartbroken. You have broken up with him for the same reasons Harry broke up with me and… and…"

"And you were afraid Harry would find someone else, too."

"Yeah, something like that," Ginny admitted. "Plus, it was so much easier to stay mad at you than deal with my feelings towards Harry."

"Ginny, I know Harry hurt you badly. And I know I hurt Ron. But that I fell in love with Fred has nothing to do with Harry and you. Harry loves you very much. I'm sure he does."

"But than why is he pushing me away? I'd go all the way with him. I don't care about the danger."

"Don't you see, Ginny? He doesn't want you to get hurt."

"He doesn't push Ron or you away, and I'm sure he doesn't want you guys to get hurt either."

"There's a difference."

They didn't have the opportunity to discuss the subject any further because at that point Ron, closely followed by Harry, came running through the Portrait hole.

"Are you girls alright?" Ron asked before he even reached them.

Hermione and Ginny nodded, but Ron noticed his sister's tearstained face and immediately took a seat at her other side, engulfing her in a tight bear hug.

--

For most students the last day before the Easter holidays passed in a blur. Everyone was busy writing home, asking whether the family and friends were okay. Those students who didn't have an owl of their own stood in long lines to use the school owls. Headmistress McGonagall had to order additional owls from Hogsmeade to ensure that everybody who wanted to could write home.

Lessons that day were frequently interrupted by letters arriving via owl post for the students. Some received assurance that the family was doing fine, others got bad news. Hogwarts was in an uproar, and everybody was anxious to get home.

Hermione, Harry, Ginny and Ron felt no different from anybody else. They kept close together, trying to support each other. In addition to Fred's letter, Errol had arrived just after lunch, confirming that the rest of the Weasley family was fine as well. Apparently, they had all relocated to Aunt Muriel's because her residence was deemed to have the safest wards.

In a failed attempt to lighten the mood a bit, Ron remarked that it should be interesting to see how everyone would react around Fred and Hermione once they arrived. Hermione didn't seem to find this funny though, Ginny started apologizing again and Harry just rolled his eyes.

The train ride home was very subdued. Hermione, Harry, Ginny and Ron shared a compartment with Neville and Luna. Neville had received word from his grandmother that his Great Uncle Algie was still missing, while Luna was relieved to report that her father had been on the hunt for a pink-dotted Snorkelbee in the south of Wales during the attack on Diagon Alley. He was out of harms way, though the Snorkelbee has been reported to be very ferocious, and Luna was hopeful her father might even be stung by one. It was supposed to bring luck.

When the train finally began to slow down, Hermione jumped out of her seat. Glad that she had at least left Crookshanks back at Hogwarts, Hermione impatiently yanked her trunk out of the rack and scrambled through the compartment door before the others even had the opportunity to gather their luggage.

However, the corridor was already filled with students, and Hermione didn't get far. Two steps away from the compartment, she came to a halt in the long line while outside the train's windows London was sweeping by. Ron came out of the compartment as well, dragging his own trunk behind him. Seeing the long queue in front of the exits and Hermione's anxious face, he grabbed the handle of her trunk. "Go on," he said. "I'll take your luggage.

Freed from the weight of her heavy trunk, Hermione climbed past the waiting students, ignoring their angry protests. She reached the nearest door just as the Hogwarts Express stopped at King's Cross. The doors opened, and Hermione jumped onto the platform. Platform 9 ¾ was filled with witches and wizards, waiting to pick up their offspring. Just like inside the train, the mood was tense.

Fred and George's red heads were easily spotted in the crowd, and Hermione ran towards them at once. She flew into Fred's arms, hugging him tightly. Neither thought about it that moment, but back in December Hermione hadn't been able to tell the twins apart, but now she had instinctively known which one was her husband.

"I'm so glad you're okay," she whispered into his chest. "I was so scared."

Fred only tightened his hold on Hermione. By the time the two were ready to let go of each other, Harry, Ron and Ginny were exiting the train. Ron had a few difficulties, trying to carry Hermione's trunk as well as his own. George stepped forward to help his brother.

Just before the others reached them, Hermione whispered to Fred, "Be nice to Ginny." Fred looked at his wife questioningly, but didn't have the time to ask what she meant. He knew that Ron had apologized to Hermione, and as far as Fred was concerned, things with his brother could go back to normal. He didn't hold a grudge. Ironically, Fred was sure should Hermione ever leave him and start a relationship with one of his brothers, he would do far more than just try to beat the crap out of whichever brother stole his wife.

The last he knew though, Ginny was still mad at him, and Fred rather thought that Ginny was the one who should be told to be nice. But when his little sister got closer, walking half a step behind Harry and Ron, Fred noticed her pale face and bloodshot eyes. He didn't wait until she reached him, but hastened towards her, engulfing her in a bone-crushing hug. Ginny let go of her trunk, startled, but hugged her brother back nonetheless. Fred felt his robes get wet on the spot where Ginny had buried her face in his shoulder.

"Nobody ever hugs me!" George complained. Fred snorted, but Harry and Ron took a step back, just in case. Laughing lightly, Hermione stepped up to her brother-in-law and gave him a quick hug.

"There, feel better?" she asked with a chuckle when she let go.

"Yes, thank you," George replied haughtily, and everybody laughed at his big grin. Even Ginny managed a smile, wiping away her tears.

"We should probably get going," Fred said, letting go of his sister and stepping next to Hermione again. All around them parents were quickly Disapparating with their respective children. Nobody wanted to stay and chat like they usually did out of fear of being too exposed.

"Right," George agreed. "Ron you know how to Apparate to Aunt Muriel's, don't you?"

Ron nodded in affirmation. He passed along Hermione's trunk to Fred and gripped Harry's arm with his free hand instead. Together, they Disapparated. George took a hold of his sister and her trunk and followed Ron's example. Fred and Hermione were the last ones to remain on Platform 9 ¾ .

"Are you ready?" Fred asked Hermione. Hermione nodded, although her face clearly showed her trepidation. This would be the first time she met Mrs. Weasley and the rest of the family since becoming a Mrs. Weasley herself.

"It's going to be alright," Fred assured. "They've got far more serious things to worry about now than us getting married."

Hermione gave him a wry smile and held on tight as Fred Apparated them to his Aunt Muriel's residence. George and Ginny were waiting for them outside the door of a rather large, but old brick house, but Harry and Ron were nowhere to be seen.

"Where are Ron and Harry?" George just started asking his twin worriedly when the two boys in question came hurrying down the long driveway. Apparently, Ron had missed the Apparition point by two houses and scared the neighbours quite badly when he and the-boy-who-lived appeared, standing in their flowerbed.

Ron seemed rather embarrassed by his difficulties to navigate and blushed when his brothers laughed about Harry's description of the elderly woman, who had chased them off her prised daffodils.

Still laughing, the group stepped inside the house. Leaving the trunks at the entrance and following the voices, Harry, Ron, Ginny, Hermione and the twins walked inside a large kitchen where the rest of the Weasley's, minus Percy, seemed to be gathered. The chatter died down immediately when the Weasleys became aware of the arrival of their youngest family members.

Their welcome, however, was not as warm as one might have hoped. An awkward silence stretched through the kitchen as everyone looked around from the newlyweds to the rest. Fleur, of all people, was the one to break the silence.

"There you are. We've been wondering what's taking you so long." She rose from her spot on the kitchen table next to Bill and gracefully walked towards the door where the newly arrived group had remained standing. She gave a rather startled Ginny a hug, kissed both Harry and Ron on the cheek, making both boys blush, and came to a stop in front of Hermione.

"I already had Fred show me your wedding pictures. You looked absolutely beautiful, Hermione. I was surprised at the style of your dress. You didn't purchase it in Paris, no?" She gave Hermione a hug as well while the slightly overwhelmed girl muttered a thank you.

Then Fleur turned around to the rest of the room, gave them all a look that clearly said '_There_, us French know how to act classy' and returned to her place beside Bill.

"Yeah, just what I was thinking. A shame you couldn't go dress-shopping in Paris," Charlie commented from his place at the table. He gave Hermione and Fred a good-natured grin while Fleur scowled at him. Bill hid his own grin in his hand so his wife wouldn't see.

The mood in the room decidedly lightened thereafter. Ron and Ginny went over to their parents to say hello while Fred introduced both Harry and Hermione to his Great-aunt Muriel.

Aunt Muriel appraised both Harry and Hermione with a critical eye, before proclaiming loud enough for the whole room to hear that Harry was looking rather meek for a supposed saviour of the wizarding world and Hermione had skinny ankles, which she hopefully wouldn't pass on to any of her and Fred's future children.

Unsure how to answer this kind of greeting, Harry and Hermione looked to Fred for assistance, who unfortunately wasn't much of a help because he was busy laughing at their bewildered faces. Bill, however, came to their rescue. He brought his great-aunt a glass of sherry. Somewhat pacified, Aunt Muriel re-evaluated Harry and Hermione and reached the conclusion that Harry, while looking meek, seemed to have been born under a lucky star and might just defeat You-Know-Who based on sheer dumb luck, and that Hermione, skinny ankles aside, had a nice frame for breeding, unlike that French gal Bill had picked.

"Er, thank you," Harry mumbled, though his words were mostly drowned by the roaring laughter that filled the kitchen.

The only ones to remain motionless were Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. Staying close to Fred's side, Hermione was sad to notice that her husband's parents still seemed to hold a grudge. The elder Weasley's had greeted their two youngest children enthusiastically enough, but Hermione and Harry only received a stiff hug and greetings that sounded hollow to Hermione's ears. Her marriage to Fred wasn't mentioned at all.

Ron seemed to have noticed as well because Hermione saw him taking his parents aside, talking to them seriously while occasionally pointing at Fred and Hermione. Hermione hoped that Ron's blessing would change Mr. and Mrs. Weasley's opinion of her and Fred's unexpected relationship—for Fred's sake. She had noticed that while her husband seemed to be as happy about seeing her as she was to see him, he still appeared miserable whenever looking in the direction of his parents. Hermione sighed inaudibly, pressing herself closer to Fred's side.

--

Once they were done greeting everyone, Fred led Hermione out of the kitchen. They fetched Hermione's trunk from the entrance and started up the staircase.

"We're on the third floor," Fred explained on the way. "There was a bit of an argument though when Mum divided up the rooms."

"How come?" Hermione asked.

"Well, she put me in a room with George, and you were supposed to bunk with Ginny."

"You're kidding!"

"Yeah, I had to throw quite a fit to get that changed. Mum is just so stubborn." Fred had reached the end of the third floor hallway and opened a door to his left. "But George shares a room with Charlie now, and you are in here with me."

Hermione walked into the tiny bedroom, which was sparsely furnished with a wardrobe, a table and a chair, two nightstands and two single beds, pushed as far away from each other as the tiny room permitted.

"Mum claims Aunt Muriel doesn't have any more rooms with king-sized beds," Fred explained, and Hermione was sorry to see the pained look in his eyes. He might not say it out loud, but she knew that Fred was hurt by his mother's ongoing rejection of their marriage.

"Well, good thing we can do magic then," Hermione tried to make light of the situation. She pulled out her wand from her pocket and made an elaborated movement in the air. Instantly, the two beds joined in the middle of the room. Fred smiled.

"You always were the smartest witch of our age."

All necessary redecorations done, Hermione turned to Fred again, encircling his waist with her arms. "I'm sure your mother will come around eventually. Just give her some time to get used to everything," she whispered, before rising on her toes and kissing Fred's jaw.

Fred returned her hug, burying his face in her shoulder.

"I don't know, she's stubborn," he mumbled into her hair. Hermione ran her hands soothingly over his back.

"At least we know from whom you've inherited that thick head of yours then," she teased.

Fred gave an involuntary laugh. "Yeah, pig-headedness runs in the family, in case you hadn't noticed." He pulled back a little and smiled down at Hermione.

Hermione in turn looked up to him, glad to see some of the sadness gone from his eyes. She reached up and pulled his head down for a kiss. Fred pulled her close again, banishing all thoughts about his family for a while and focusing on his wife instead.

How they ended up on the bed, Hermione didn't even know. But all of a sudden, she found herself lying on the soft cushions, with Fred above her and his hands roaming freely over her body.

"Fred, we need to stop," she choked out breathlessly in between two kisses.

"Why? I missed you," Fred asked, showing no signs of wanting to stop anytime soon. Instead he moved to nibble at her collarbone.

"Fred." Hermione's protests turned into a moan as his warm hand slipped under her shirt. Abandoning all rational thoughts, she pulled his face up again and crashed her lips to his.

A knock on the door made them both freeze.

"Guys, dinner is ready in ten minutes," George shouted through the door. "And do me a favour and remember to use silencing charms tonight because Charlie's and my room is right next door."

Before either Fred or Hermione could think of an answer, they heard George's steps and laughter fade away into the direction of the staircase. Reluctantly, Fred rolled off of Hermione, trying to get his breathing back under control.

"I swear, the boy has the worst timing ever," he grumbled.

Laughing, Hermione got up from the bed, trying to smooth down her hopelessly wrinkled clothing before hastily digging through her trunk in search of her hairbrush.

"Are you going to get up?" she asked Fred while she dragged her brush through the tussled mob on her head.

"Gimme a minute," Fred sighed, running a hand over his face.

When she was satisfied that her appearance did not resemble that of a hurricane victim anymore, Hermione walked back to the bed, grabbed both of Fred's hands and pulled him upright.

"I'm coming, I'm coming," Fred laughed, letting his wife drag him to the door. Before they exited the room, he stopped her, pulling her in for a brief, but sweet kiss.

"I love you," he whispered and Hermione smiled.

Holding hands, they went to join the rest of their family for dinner.

_The End_

a/n: That's it people, the end of Magnetic Moment. Well, almost. I'm still going to write an epilogue, and knowing me, it's probably going to be a long one. ;) So, if there's still a scene you'd like to see, or something you think I should definitely mention in the epilogue, let me know, and I'll see if I can incorporate your idea.

Many thanks to all those people who have reviewed my story so far and to my awesome betas for this chapter, Joey and rules-of-jinx. I really appreciate all the support.


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